With only a day left for the Dhaka city polls to get under way, security officials remain highly concerned over the use of illegal arms and criminals from outside the city as clashes between rival groups continue in the capital.
Just before the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) elections, scheduled to be held tomorrow, the city witnessed a number of clashes, the latest being the one in Gopibagh on January 26, where at least 10 were left injured.
In order to control the situation, the law enforcement agencies have already deployed members on the field, in addition to increasing surveillance and regular operations to curb the use of illegal arms and criminals from outside the city.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, speaking to journalists, said that the BNP was gathering outsiders in Dhaka before the elections.
"We have news that armed terrorists will try to disrupt the environment in the name of guarding centres on election day," he added.
Meanwhile, BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain rejected the claims and said: "It is impossible for us to bring in people from outside or to acquire any weapons. They [Awami League] have brought arms and many activists from outside, ahead of the elections."
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has identified 1,588 polling centres as “important” out of a total of 2,468 in the upcoming elections. The identified polling centres, which amount to around 64.35% of all polling centres in the election, would require special arrangements and elaborate security plans to be in place.
Earlier, Detective Police (DB) arrested a person named Ashikur Rahman with firearms and bullets from Sheikh Saheb Bazar Road under Lalbagh police station on the night of January 27. He had brought the weapons from the Benapole border region to sell to various people before the elections.
According to the notification issued from the Home Ministry on January 27, no one can carry and display legal weapons from January 30 midnight to February 3 midnight.
DB sources said that DB police had identified 30 points through which illegal arms could have entered the country. Among them, most weapons have come in through Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Benapole and Sylhet.
