Dhaka’s security beefed up amid power outage

Law-enforcing agencies have tightened security across capital Dhaka amid the massive blackout that has plunged Bangladesh into darkness.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 1 Nov 2014, 03:36 PM
Updated : 1 Nov 2014, 10:13 PM

RAB and police officials have said additional teams are patrolling the city apart from their regular schedule.

On Saturday evening, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) spokesperson Mohsin Reza said their personnel were also deployed in Dhaka and elsewhere to maintain law and order.

Police had started patrolling several areas including Farmgate, Tejgaon, Ramna, Lalbagh, Minto Road and Banani in the evening.

The law enforcers said precautionary measures were also taken in view of the verdict on Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali, tried for 1971 war crimes, due on Sunday.

So far, countrywide shutdowns have been called on every verdict day for top Jamaat leaders charged with crimes against humanity.

Massive violence ensued across the country after the party's executive council member Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death on Feb 28, 2013.

Jamaat, accused of committing war crimes during the war, had called for a three-day strike – Thursday, Sunday and Monday – protesting against the death sentence of its chief Motiur Rahman Nizami delivered on Wednesday.

RAB spokesperson Mufti Mahmud Khan said they were watching out for untoward incidents in areas suffering power outage.

Police were seen taking position in different spots in Dhaka and assuring the people.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Tejgaon zone Deputy Commissioner (DC) Biplab Kumar Sarkar said they were doing their best to provide safety to the people.

File Photo

Ramna zone DC Abdul Baten said, “Security has been increased at Ramna where apart from general people in residential areas, ministers and bureaucrats live, so that no one can do any harm during the blackout.”

Armed Police Battalion (APBn) media cell ASP Amirul Islam said their personnel had been alerted and ordered to carry out additional patrols in Gulshan, Banani, Farmgate, Tejgaon and Ramna zones.

A massive blackout hit Bangladesh after the collapse of the National Grid at around 11:30am on Saturday. The hasty restoration process in the evening caused another grid failure.

As evening fell, Dhaka and most of Bangladesh submerged in darkness as the available supply was inadequate to meet the demand.