Intelligence agencies active with info of top criminals
Staff Reporter :
As the 13th National Parliamentary Election draws very close, intelligence agencies become active in the field with information on top underworld criminals.
Sources said, Bangladesh Army arrested underworld kingpins Subrata Bain and Molla Masud last year. At the time, they had entered Bangladesh from India on targeted killing missions. As the 13th National Parliamentary Election nearing, members of the Army’s 46 Brigade arrested one of Subrata Bain’s associates, Mehedi Hasan Dipu alias Bipul, from the Badda area of the capital with 11 foreign-made pistols and 394 rounds of ammunition.
Although the Army had begun work in the field well in advance of the election, intelligence agencies have recently become active with lists of armed criminals operating in the electoral arena. According to reports from various intelligence agencies, there are at least 346 armed criminals across the country, of whom 103 are in Dhaka alone. An additional 49 are located in areas surrounding Dhaka.
The list includes top criminals such as Iman, Liton, Mohammadpur’s XL Babu, Mozammel Hossain Babu, and Faisal—the main shooter in the killing of Osman Hadi. From Saturday night, law enforcement agencies launched operations in the capital and across the country to arrest those listed criminals.
Only two days remain before the 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum. With the election scheduled for Thursday, nearly one million members of various forces have officially been deployed to maintain law and order.
A total of 1,051 executive magistrates will also be in the field. To ensure a free, fair, and neutral election and to prevent possible post-election violence, law enforcement personnel will remain deployed for seven days—from yesterday until February 14.
From securing polling centers to serving as mobile and striking forces, all units will operate under the authority of the respective returning officers. In addition, members of the armed forces have been deployed to assist the civil administration.
According to Election Commission (EC) statistics, 100,003 Army personnel are deployed in the election field. In addition, there are 5,000 Navy members, 3,730 Air Force personnel, 37,453 Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members, 3,585 Coast Guard personnel, 187,603 police officers, 9,349 RAB members, and 576,483 Ansar and VDP members on duty. Beyond these, 1,922 BNCC cadets and 45,820 village police (chowkidars and dafaders) will also perform election duties.
Sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that police, BGB, Ansar and VDP, and the Coast Guard have been deployed to ensure a free, peaceful, and neutral election and to maintain law and order. At the same time, members of the armed forces have been deployed under the “in aid to civil power” provision to support the local civil administration. All forces will report to the returning officers and carry out their duties according to their instructions and guidance.
Regarding overall preparedness, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told the media that the Army had been deployed earlier, with additional troops joining from Sunday. Officially, they will remain in the field for a total of seven days, covering both pre- and post-election periods. Law enforcement agencies will work in coordination with the respective returning officers. The EC’s central coordination cell will monitor the situation, and real-time updates will be available through its own security app.
Meanwhile, Swapan Mollah, joint general secretary of the Jubo League of Ward No. 100, has been distributing leaflets in the Mohammadpur area of the capital promoting the banned Awami League’s “No Boat, No Vote” campaign. Police records list him as an armed criminal.
Nazrul Islam, Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said that they have received a list of 103 shooters in the Dhaka metropolitan area through various intelligence agencies.
He said these individuals had opened fire in different ways during past incidents. “We have received their information and shared it with various units. We are making our utmost efforts to bring them under the law,” he added, noting that the list has been distributed across different police divisions.
At least 11 individuals on the list have no cases filed against them. As a result, police are planning special operations to arrest them. He further said that special drives are already underway.
So far, a large quantity of foreign pistols, locally made pistols, foreign revolvers, some abandoned weapons, and bullets have been recovered, and 52 illegal arms holders have been arrested.