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
deployment as a precaution, fearing possible unrest around the verdict. The ruling will be broadcast live on Bangladesh Television and several private channels.
Although law enforcement officials insist there is no specific threat to the verdict itself, they have intensified patrols across Dhaka following a two-day “complete shutdown” call for 16 and 17 November issued by the banned Awami League on social media.
In the past few days, the capital and several districts have seen sporadic explosions and arson attacks linked to these shutdown programmes.
On Sunday evening, miscreants blasted crude bombs near the Karwarn Bazar Metro Rail Station in the capital. However, no casualties were reported.
Between Saturday night and early Sunday, buses were set on fire in Hazaribagh, South Keraniganj, and Savar.
Fire service teams responded quickly, and no casualties were reported. In Hazaribagh, a parked college bus was torched just before midnight. Hours later, buses in Keraniganj’s Rajendrapur area and Savar’s Raj Fulbaria were targeted.
Several crude bomb blasts were also reported around the same time. A cocktail exploded in Madhubagh, briefly setting a motorcycle ablaze.
Two more blasts took place near the ADB office and under the Agargaon metro rail station. Witnesses near the Waqf Bhaban area said explosives may have been hurled from the flyover.
Outside Dhaka, a Grameen Bank branch in Gazipur’s Sripur upazila was hit by petrol bombs thrown by seven to eight unidentified youths around 2:30am.
The blasts damaged the branch’s signboard, though the building remained intact. The lone security guard said he heard several explosions but was too frightened to step outside.
Banking operations resumed normally the next morning. A similar arson attempt was reported in Bogura.
Police say constant patrols likely prevented larger attacks.
Security forces in Dhaka have moved into full alert mode.
More than 17,000 Dhaka Metropolitan Police personnel are currently stationed across the city.
Checkpoints, surveillance, and rapid patrols have been increased around courts, government offices, and major intersections.
DMP Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Talebur Rahman said the city faces no direct threat ahead of the verdict, but added that security has been reinforced in response to the shutdown announcement.
Detective Branch chief Mohammad Shafiqul Islam echoed this assessment, saying their teams are fully deployed.
BGB spokesperson Md Shariful Islam confirmed that 14 platoons have been assigned to Dhaka and surrounding districts, with additional teams patrolling Gopalganj, Faridpur, and Madaripur.
Since 12 November, BGB units have occupied strategic points in the capital, with more recently sent to Narayanganj and Gazipur.
RAB also strengthened monitoring and ground patrols around the tribunal. “Our members are maintaining patrols and check-posts, while our cyber team is closely watching online threats,” said Wing Commander MZHM Intekhab Chowdhury of RAB’s Law and Media Wing.
He added that RAB is prepared to prevent any attempt at sabotage.
Since 7 November, scattered bomb blasts, bus burnings, and arson attempts have occurred in Dhaka and other districts. With another key verdict scheduled for Monday, authorities expect further attempts to stir unrest, but insist they are ready to respond.