DMP deploys 667 patrol teams, sets up 71 checkpoints
Home adviser retired lieutenant general Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Saturday said that the members of the law enforcement and security agencies would not go on Eid-ul-Fitr vacation this year.
He said that the police deployed 667 patrol teams and set up 71 checkpoints in two shifts in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police area during the time.
Talking to reporters after visiting the Gabtali Bus Terminal in the capital on the day, he said that the government had taken the move to maintain law and order in Dhaka city as elsewhere across the country ahead of Eid.
The government鈥檚 move came amid repeated incidents of thefts, robberies, muggings and rapes in the past few months.
The home adviser said that the members of the police, Armed Forces, Border Guard Bangladesh, Ansar and Bangladesh Coast Guard would not go on vacation on the occasion of Eid, which is likely to be celebrated on March 31 or April 1 depending on moon sighting.
He also said that the government had taken various measures to make the Eid journey comfortable and uninterrupted this year.
Jahangir claimed that they had taken all kinds of steps to prevent criminal activities including theft, robbery, and snatching in Dhaka.
He said that there was no threat of 鈥榗onspiracy鈥� in Dhaka during the vacation.
鈥業f there is a threat of any conspiracy, we will confront them with the people,鈥� he said.
Addressing a press conference at the DMP鈥檚 detective branch office on Mintoo Road in the city, the DMP DB chief, Rezaul Karim Mallick, said that DB鈥檚 intelligence surveillance was intensified than ever before to prevent any sabotage attempts at financial institutions, shopping malls, railway stations, bus terminals, and launch terminals during the holidays.
He also said that the DB鈥檚 cyber team had increased monitoring using information technology to curb any misinformation or propaganda in cyberspaces ahead of Eid.
Several specialised teams from DB鈥檚 eight divisions would carry out a special operation targeting muggers, thieves, extortionists, and habitual offenders at key locations across Dhaka to ensure the safety of the city dwellers during their return journey to Dhaka after Eid celebrations, the DB chief said.
鈥楧B is also actively working to prevent the production and circulation of counterfeit currency ahead of Eid as a significant number of fake banknotes, along with materials, were already seized, and several members of counterfeit gangs have been arrested in recent raids,鈥� he said.
The DB official urged the city dwellers to report any untoward incidents or security concerns in their neighbourhoods, residences, or markets to the nearest police outpost, police station, or DB office.
He also advised people to contact DMP鈥檚 control room or the national emergency helpline 999 for assistance during such incidents.
The nine-day Eid vacation began on Friday as the five-day public holidays merged with two weekends and one day holiday on an executive order making the holidays longer this time and raising security concerns for many leaving the city.
