In a bid to curb acts of sabotage and secret attacks during blockade, law enforcers have launched a special drive to net pickets and opposition leaders.
A directive in this regard has already been sent to all the police stations in Dhaka and the offices of the district police chiefs.
Police is now conducting a door-to-door drive to arrest leaders and supporters of the BNP and its partner Jamaat-e-Islami.
The directive says police should take action against every Jamaat and BNP leader that can be traced; once any leader or activist of these political parties are found, they should be shown arrested in existing sabotage, assault and arson attack cases.
The list of arrested opposition leaders already includes BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Senior Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, Jubo Dal President Moazzem Hossain Alal, and so on.
On Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in a rally in Dhaka that her government would do everything needed to protect the country’s people and their properties, and none would be spared.
When contacted yesterday, Asaduzzaman Miah, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told the Dhaka Tribune that police would take all measures necessary to ensure security of Dhaka residents and none would be spared.
However, even the presence of law enforcers has not been able to keep blockade supporters from wreaking havoc on the streets and highways.
On Friday, Dhaka Tribune reporter Adil Sakhawat was coming to Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar on a private bus that, along with other buses, were being escorted by police and RAB vans.
However, pickets, completely ignoring the presence of law, attacked several of those buses by hurling brick chips from the roadsides of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway and disappeared in thin air before the law enforcers could do anything.
According to intelligence sources, at least 300 professional pickets are currently active in the capital. Hundreds of bomb makers are supplying them with crude and petrol bombs. In fact, making these bombs and hurling them have become a good source of earning for many.
Sources said because of the increased demand, the prices of crude and petrol bombs have gone up significantly because raw materials have been scarce.
Depending on the sizes, crude bombs are now being sold at Tk500-Tk1,500 per piece. Petrol bombs are now being sold for Tk300 to Tk500.
Professional and trained pickets charge from Tk100 to Tk1,000 for hurling these bombs. The rate they charge depends on the area; the tighter the security in an area, the higher is the rate.
According to sources, law enforcers have already made a list of these bomb makers, mostly based in Old Dhaka localities such as Chakbazar, Shutrapur, Kotowali, Wari, Shyampur, Jatrabari, Lalbagh and Syedabad. Some bomb makers have been active in others areas such as Badda, Kafrul, Pallabi and Bhashantek as well.
The circle that makes and hurls bombs is mostly made up of jobless and poor young men who mainly live in slums in these areas.
Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of the Legal and Media Wing of RAB, said the force has been working to nab those involved with planning and executing acts of sabotage.
