December return plan fuels unrest fears
The announcement by deposed despot Sheikh Hasina that she plans to return to Bangladesh in December has added to political uncertainty, while a series of crude-bomb blasts and bus fires in Dhaka has heightened public anxiety.
The government has said she will be arrested on arrival, while police have stepped up security amid concerns that the return issue could be used to create panic and mobilise supporters.
Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, 2024, following the student-led uprising, told Reuters in July that she and senior Awami League colleagues planned to return around December and surrender to the courts. Party sources have put the possible date at December 14.
Hasina has been sentenced
to death in a crimes-against-humanity case linked to the July-August 2024 uprising, while an arrest warrant has also been issued against her. Bangladesh has formally sought her extradition from India.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat said the government would not prevent Hasina from returning but would take her into custody to face the legal process.
“Why December 31? Let her come tomorrow. We will receive her in handcuffs and she will be tried through the legal process,” he said at a public rally.
The government has characterised the return announcement as an attempt to create fear and disorder, warning that anyone seeking to exploit the issue to destabilise the country would face action.
Police step up preparations
Against this backdrop, police sources said security preparations had been intensified amid concerns about possible violence over the coming one to two months.
Law enforcement agencies have reportedly been instructed to monitor suspected activists of the banned Awami League, trace fugitives in various cases and keep watch on people released on bail.
Field-level intelligence gathering has also been strengthened.
Police intelligence sources claimed that some leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations had been instructed to regroup secretly in districts and metropolitan areas.
They also claimed preparations were under way for processions and other programmes surrounding Hasina’s possible return. These claims could not be independently verified.
Blasts, fires heighten tension
The security concerns have been compounded by a series of crude-bomb explosions and bus fires in Dhaka.
At least 13 explosions were reported at several locations, including Jatrabari, Malibagh, Rampura, Agargaon, Moghbazar, Dhaka College and areas around Dhaka University and the Supreme Court.
Police subsequently increased security and established more than 200 checkpoints across the capital.
At Jatrabari, several crude bombs exploded in succession on Friday evening, injuring rickshaw-puller Md Billal, 32. Raju Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Jatrabari Police Station, said police were working to identify those responsible. No arrests had been made at the time.
Buses were also targeted. The Fire Service received a report of a fire on a Shikor Paribahan bus near Jomjom Tower in Mirpur-11 at about 7:13pm.
Around the same time, an Abhijat Paribahan bus caught fire at Mirpur-1, although locals brought the blaze under control within minutes.
Hafizur Rahman, OC of Mirpur Police Station, described the incident as “an attempt” to set a bus on fire, saying the vehicle itself did not burn.
A bus was also set on fire in front of Kafrul Police Station. The incident was reported at around 10pm, with no casualties reported.
Earlier on Friday, two crude bombs exploded near the Sohag Paribahan counter beside Malibagh Rail Gate after Jumu’ah prayers.
No casualties were reported.
The incidents prompted the DMP to deploy additional personnel, increase patrols and establish checkpoints at key roads and entry points.
Detective Branch chief Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam said police had met Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed to discuss the country’s law and order situation. “Once we get directives, we will brief the media,” he said.
Audio clip triggers action
Separately, an audio recording allegedly featuring an officer-in-charge of a Dhaka Metropolitan Police station circulated on social media.
In the recording, the officer reportedly commented on weaknesses in street-level policing and suggested that little would happen if Hasina returned in December.
The officer was withdrawn to DMP headquarters and an investigation was ordered.
Government ministers and political analysts have interpreted Hasina’s announcement as an attempt to reassure and activate Awami League and Chhatra League supporters who are currently inactive or in hiding.
Such interpretations are political assessments rather than independently established facts.
The possibility of Union Parishad elections in December has also raised concerns among observers that the campaign period could provide a platform for political mobilisation and place additional pressure on law enforcement.
BNP questions banned party activity
BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi meanwhile questioned how the banned Awami League was able to organise a procession in Dhaka’s Gulshan.
“What are the intelligence agencies doing? They gathered a number of people. Did the intelligence agencies not know about it? What is the police administration doing?” he said.
Speaking at a discussion organised by the 12-party alliance at the National Press Club, Rizvi also questioned whether the Awami League should be allowed to resume political activity without first facing what he described as accountability for its actions during the July uprising.
The combination of Hasina’s stated intention to return, heightened political mobilisation and recent incidents of violence has therefore put public safety and law and order at the centre of the political debate.
