Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in the capital’s diplomatic zone as part of ongoing measures to beef up security for the foreigners.
BGB sources said two platoons of BGB were deployed in the area comprising Baridhara, Gulshan and parts of Banani in north Dhaka yesterday evening, where a high proportion of foreign nationals live and work, following an instruction from the Home Ministry.
When contacted, Public Relation Officer of BGB headquarters Mohsin Reza confirmed that the BGB members were deployed to help other units of law enforcing agencies ensure security of the diplomatic area at night.
“The BGB men have started patrolling from Saturday evening and they will be on patrol till Sunday morning,” Mohsin Reza added.
When asked how many days the paramilitary force will continue their patrolling, he said they will remain on-duty for Saturday night. If the authority desired, the BGB will continue their patrolling further, he said.
Meanwhile, Specialised DB team ‘Special Weapons and Tactics’ (SWAT) along with police, the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and the Detective Branch conducted another special security drill in the diplomatic areas on Saturday afternoon. It was a repeat of the exercise carried out on Thursday to ensure the city dwellers, especially foreigners in the diplomatic quarter, that they were safe.
The police has taken various measures, including strengthening its vigilance in the areas following the killings of two foreign nationals. Italian national Cesare Tavella was gunned down in the city’s Gulshan area on September 28 while Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi in Rangpur on October 3.
Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Sheikh Maruf Hasan, Joint Commissioner (Detective Branch) Monirul Islam and other senior officers were present during the special security drill.
