Counter Terrorism and Transnational (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police have cordoned off two buildings, in the Bhogiratpur and Madhabdi areas in Sadar upazila, since Monday night—suspecting that they are militant dens.
On Monday night, Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mannan told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have cordoned off two militant dens in Narsingdi.”
Confirming the matter, Abul Kalam, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Madhabdi Police Station, said: “Over 100 policemen surrounded the seven-storey building of Afzal Haji, in Gangpar area under Madhabdi municipality, and another five-storey building of clothes trader Billah Hossain, in Bhogiratpur area, around 9pm on Monday.”
Two teams of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and DMP Detective Branch joined the CTTC team at night, reports UNB. Later, a team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) also joined them.
Briefing reporters around 9:50am on Tuesday, CTTC chief Monirul Islam said: “We had information that militants have established two dens in Narsingdi. Acting on that information, we cordoned off two buildings in the district.
“Residents of those two buildings have been safely evacuated.”
When asked when the operation will begin, he said: “We do not yet have information about how many militants are holed up in those two buildings, but we are sure that multiple culprits are presently inside.
“We are doing our best to make them surrender, but if they do not surrender, we will take action in accordance with the law.”
He continued: “We do not have intelligence about whether the militants have explosives with them, but we suspect that the culprits have them. However, the quantity of the explosives is currently unknown.
“We will launch a drive against them as soon as we can ensure the safety of the local residents and our teams.”
Our Narsingdi correspondent, who is near the spot, has learned that a drive against the suspected militant den in Bhogiratpur has begun and gunshots have been heard in the area.
Visiting the spot around 12:45pm where the raid is being conducted, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Patwari told reporters: “We have named the drive Operation Gordian Knot. The militants currently have a better position over the SWAT team.”
He added that information about whether the militants had any plans to engage in election-time violence will be revealed after the drives conclude.
Earlier, at night, the district administration imposed section 144 in a 500-yard area surrounding both of the buildings, said Shah Alam Mia, executive magistrate of Sadar upazila.
Meanwhile, police detained Md Nazmul for allegedly renting his Bhogiratpur apartment to a suspected militant.