False militant alarm during Rajuk drive in Gulshan

Gulshan police have detained two people from the house for interrogation. The incident took place in House No 2 on Road No 13 on Tuesday afternoon, said Gulshan police station OC Sirajul Islam. There has been a conflict of ownership of the two-storey building located just by the Gulshan Lake. Police received an anonymous tip that the building housed militants, which led to the drive, reported the Bangla Tribune. A team of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) began an eviction drive against commercial establishments in the residential area around 1:30pm on Tuesday. During the drive, Rajuk Executive Magistrate Khandakar Aliur Rahman along with the team tried to enter the house, but the security guard refused to let them in. The denial to entry, unusual high boundary walls and three watch towers on the premises with CCTV cameras installed created suspicion among policemen and the Rajuk team. A few minutes later, the guard opened the gate and police saw some youth on the roof who instantly ducked seeing the law enforcers. This strange behaviour prompted police to raid the building. On-duty Special Branch officers were immediately informed and a large number of police personnel were mobilised. They kept the premises cordoned off for around an hour. Around 2:50pm, OC Sirajul Islam forcefully entered the premises and executed the drive. However, they found nothing related to militancy there. Asked why the he did not let the Rajuk team or law enforcers in, the security guard said there had been a conflict of ownership over the house. Nephew of one of the owners said Rajuk should not have proceeded with the search without permission. The OC said: “Police knew about the conflict of ownership and that the house was not a militant den.” Salauddin Miah, inspector (investigation) at Gulshan police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that the highly-secured look of the house led them to launch the search drive.

Rajuk shuts 3 businesses down

The Rajuk mobile court, led by the executive magistrate, also shut down three businesses in Gulshan 1 on Tuesday when they conducted a drive to evict unauthorised commercial establishments in the area. The drive, which began around 11am, also demolished six illegal ramps which had been built illegally occupying parts of the footpaths along Road No 13 and Road No 14. “A super shop named BTI and a showroom of Modern Furniture, housed in a building on Road No 7, were evicted as well,” the magistrate said. BTI Manager Mahbubur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that they had not received any prior notice from Rajuk regarding the eviction. Asked about the allegation, the executive magistrate said: “We published an advertisement in newspapers announcing the eviction drive. So it was not necessary for us to send out notices.” The BTI manager further said 10 to 15 people who had been employed at the shop were not out of jobs because of the eviction. Including Tuesday's evictions, Rajuk has shut down 10 unauthorised businesses in Gulshan since the drive was launched last week.