Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Monday said law enforcement and security agencies had been placed on high alert across the country ahead of 5 August to ensure public safety and maintain law and order.
“All necessary measures have been taken to ensure a peaceful and secure environment across the country ahead of 5 August,” he told journalists at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The minister said the heightened security was part of routine precautionary measures taken in view of the significance of the day and the prevailing security situation.
He said the ministry had issued specific instructions to police and other security agencies to strengthen vigilance and remain fully prepared to respond to any untoward incident.
Under the directives, police vehicles must not be left unattended, while security personnel have been instructed to maintain constant vigilance to ensure uninterrupted monitoring and a rapid response.
Salahuddin said a high-level coordination meeting involving the government, law enforcement agencies and other relevant stakeholders would be held to review the overall security situation and finalise arrangements for 5 August.
Referring to the recent recovery of bomb-like objects in Motijheel and Ashulia, the minister described the incidents as attempts to create panic and disrupt social harmony.
He said a coordinated investigation was under way to identify those responsible and determine whether the incidents were linked.
Salahuddin added that intelligence and law enforcement agencies were closely monitoring the activities of banned organisations and certain groups operating from abroad.
Further details would be disclosed after the investigations were completed, he said.
