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Published : 03 Jul 2025, 05:22 PM
Three days after Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali claimed there were “no militants in Bangladesh”, one of his senior colleagues took a different tone, saying there is no need to apply “colour” to “dress up” crimes.
Referring to the militant attack while addressing a briefing on the security measures ahead of Ashura at Dhaka’s Hussaini Dalan on Thursday, DMP Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam said: “A crime is a crime whether you call it militancy or anything else.
“If someone sets off an explosive, people die -- that’s a crime.”
A decade ago, a militant attack took place at Hussaini Dalan during Ashura.
Asked about the possibility of similar threats, he said: “Each crime will be tried under the existing law. There’s no need to ‘colour’ it with any label. We are aware and have the necessary measures in place.”
On the night of Oct 23, 2015, a bomb exploded at Hussaini Dalan during preparations for a Tazia procession, killing two people and leaving over a hundred injured.
Two undetonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered from the scene later.
According to case documents, 13 members of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were involved in the incident. Police arrested 10, while three were killed in a so-called shootout during the drive.
Among the arrestees, two were found to be minors after court-ordered birth certificate tests and were tried separately in juvenile court.
In March 2022, Dhaka’s Special Anti-Terrorism Tribunal sentenced two JMB members to 10 and seven years in prison respectively, while acquitting six others.
Asked whether there are security concerns at the site now, Nazrul replied: “No specific threat has been traced yet, but we have deployed adequate security, both covert and overt.”
Just a year after the Hussaini Dalan attack, on Jul 1, 2016, a group of five young militants stormed into the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant in Dhaka's Gulshan armed with pistols, submachine guns and sharp weapons.
They killed 20 people, including 17 foreign nationals inside.
That night, the international extremist organisation Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the Holey Artisan attack.
However, Bangladesh intelligence brushed aside the claim, saying that an organised group of Bangladeshi militants, called “Neo-JMB”, had carried out the attack.
On Nov 27, 2019, the Special Anti-Terrorism Tribunal sentenced seven men to death over the Holey Artisan attack.
However, in October 2023, the High Court commuted those sentences to life imprisonment.
On Monday, DMP Commissioner Sazzat said in response to bdnews24.com’s queries on the topic: “No militants exist now, but we need to prevent muggings. We only need to consider curbing militancy when we have it.”
He said, “During the Awami League rule, they staged dramas about militancy and killed young people. What militants are you talking about?”
Asked about recent incidents involving crude bomb explosions, Nazrul said: “A few isolated incidents are not unusual as the country’s political landscape has changed. But police remain on high alert. Those involved or attempting such acts will be brought to justice.”
