Security beefed up ahead of Hasina’s verdict

Staff Reporter :

Security has been tightened nationwide, especially in Dhaka, ahead of verdict in an International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) case against ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others. They are accused of crimes against humanity linked to last year’s July uprising.

Authorities have deployed members of the army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police, the Armed Police Battalion, and intelligence agencies around the ICT, the High Court, and other strategic points in the capital.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police has authorised officers to open fire on anyone caught torching vehicles or throwing crude bombs in the capital ahead of the Monday’s landmark verdict.

Several senior DMP officials confirmed the media that Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali issued the order over police wireless on Sunday afternoon. They declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

When asked, the commissioner did not deny it. “I told my officers that if someone sets a bus on fire or throws a crude bomb intending to kill, they should shoot,” he told reporters. “The law already empowers us to act when there is a threat to life.”

Meanwhile, armoured vehicles were seen near the National Eidgah grounds and the Matsya Bhaban intersection, as the entire area went under a heavy security blanket on Sunday. The home ministry approved the large-scale