Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) K Mahid Uddin said on Thursday said sabotage attempts in the capital Dhaka have increased after the Election Commission (EC) announced the schedule for the 12th parliamentary elections.
He made this remark while addressing a press briefing in Dhaka.
However, he claimed that police successfully foiled most of the sabotage attempts through their actions.
He further said, “Cocktails were thrown in a few areas, but there was no major damage due to police action. If the arrested persons had the opportunity to use these explosive devices, the scale of the sabotage would have increased further.”
Twelve people were arrested from Bhasantek, Shah Ali and Shahbagh areas in Dhaka with “explosive equipment” on Wednesday (15 November) after the schedule was announced, he added.
The arrestees were identified as Mahfuz Hossain Muna, 20, Md Yasin, 19, Md Farhad, 19, Md Mahi, 18, Md Awlad Hossain, 18, Md Nasim, 18, Md Amzad Ali Hossain, 18, Md Tanvir Hossain, 18, Md Nizam Uddin Jasim, Noor Mohammad Shikdar, 23, Mohammad Bakhtiar Chowdhury alias Shaheen, 24, and Md Rubel, (20).
Mahid Uddin said eight of them were arrested from a building under-construction in Bhasantek.
Among the arrestees, Nizam Uddin Jasim is the joint general secretary of the BNP's Rupnagar unit, he claimed.
“The security measures required when election will be held at different levels and different times. We will do the work that the Election Commission (EC) asks us to do. In addition, police will have a separate security programme for each location that requires security,” he said.
Mahid said, “Police are performing their duties in 30 places to prevent arsons in buses. There are around 500 small and big intersections in the capital.”
Police cannot be present everywhere, he said, adding, “So, we are doing our duty in different places and different times.”
When asked about source explosive materials, the additional commissioner said that those who want to collect the explosive, are collecting it taking risks.
“Even then we have banned the sale of petrol in containers or bottles. They collect various chemicals that are used in garments and mix the chemicals with various materials to make explosives, he explained.
But police are on alert and arresting the arsonists red-handed, he said.
When asked if there was any negligence from police in preventing arsons in parked buses, Mahid said, “There is no lacking in our efforts.”
“There is not enough parking spaces for the number of vehicles in the city. As the vehicles are being parked in a scattered way, the arsonists are taking advantage of that,” he added.
