DMP chief: Police on high alert to ensure security on National Mourning Day

Police are on high alert to ensure foolproof security ahead of and during the National Mourning Day on Sunday, says the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner.

“Though there’s no security threat ahead of August 15, we cannot rule out any possibility,” said Md Shafiqul Islam on Saturday while talking to reporters after checking the security measures in and around Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at the capital’s Dhanmondi 32.

“August 15 is an important day and the militants may try to carry out subversive activities in the two-kilometre area of the program venue if they fail to carry out an attack on the location in a bid to draw the attention of the international media. But we think no such incident will happen,” he said.

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"Now, cyber technology has captivated the world, and militants are recruiting and encouraging people to use it. Recently, the Taliban has urged people to join the war in Afghanistan and some people, responding to their call, have left home. We just want to say the militants are active,” said Shafiqul.

Recently, a team of DMP’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit arrested an alleged leader of a militant group who used to train people for making bombs, he said, adding: “We’ve succeeded in arresting the gang.”

People across the country will observe the National Mourning Day, the darkest chapter in the history of independent Bangladesh, on Sunday.

On August 15, 1975, the nation’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were assassinated by a cabal of military men.

The government, various socio-cultural, political, and professional organizations, including the ruling Awami League and its associate bodies, have chalked out programs to observe the day.