Dhaka: The Bangladesh Home Ministry on Friday ordered stricter security around mosques in the Capital and across the nation, a measure aimed at preventing trouble related to the quota reform movement after Friday prayers, media reports said quoting sources.
Law enforcement sources have raised concerns about potential demonstrations and sabotage across the country, including in Dhaka, following prayers, Dhaka Tribune reported.
As a precaution, strict security measures had been ordered around mosques nationwide, they noted, it said.
According to reports, Dhaka Metropolitan Police has directed additional police deployment in the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque area during Friday prayers.
The officer revealed that police have information suggesting troublemakers may gather there for prayers, stating that no one should take to the streets in support of the quota reform movement.
Any attempt to create disorder would be met with a strong response, the officer added.
Officials said that during last week’s Friday prayers, protests were seen around the mosque area, reports said.
Unlike previous student-led protests, these saw significant participation from people they say were opposition political party members.
Senior law enforcement officers have suggested that criminals may use Friday prayers as a pretext to gather, media said.
Therefore, police deployment had increased not only around Baitul Mukarram but also in major mosques across Dhaka, along with heightened surveillance by plainclothes detectives, they added.
According to DMP sources, last week’s protests in Dhaka proved challenging for law enforcement to control and disperse. As a result, additional police forces are being brought in from districts with lower unrest levels to serve as a reserve force in Dhaka, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Police are identifying those involved in destructive activities during the quota reform movement in Dhaka through video footage, with nightly operations across the capital leading to the arrest of several instigators.
The quota reform movement, organized under the banner of Students Against Discrimination, saw violence on July 18.
Over the next two days, nationwide protests and violence claimed over 200 lives and injured thousands.
Three police officers died, and over a hundred were injured while trying to control the situation.
