Police have launched an unprecedented search operation across the capital, setting up 250 checkpoints on key roads and intersections a day after a series of cocktail explosions rattled the city.
Extra police personnel have been deployed at the checkpoints to search motorcycles, CNGs, and private cars. Searches are underway in Tejgaon, Mohakhali, Mirpur, Gabtoli, Jatrabari, Paltan, Shahbagh, Kawran Bazar, Badda, Rampura, Uttara, and Bhatara, among other areas.
Earlier, the government deployed members of the paramilitary force Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Dhaka and nearby districts.
DMP Media Division Deputy Commissioner Akhtar Hossain said 15 people have been arrested in connection with Sunday’s cocktail explosions. “Security has been further strengthened in the capital and search operations are ongoing,” he told reporters.
However, only a few suspects have been detained overall after the blasts, and their political identities remain unconfirmed. In one instance, a BNP activist was detained.
Rampura Thana Officer-in-Charge Jahangir Hossain said a checkpoint has been set up in front of BTV and suspicious vehicles are being searched. He added that two people were arrested on Monday morning over a cocktail blast on Banshree Road.
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Thana OC Monirul Islam reported that searches are continuing beneath the Agargaon Metro Station. Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Zahidul Islam said every thana under the division has been ordered to intensify checkpoints and searches.
Tejgaon Division Deputy Commissioner Ibne Mizan stated that OCs of all thanas have been instructed to run checkpoints. “We are conducting operations to arrest the miscreants who are trying to spread panic by exploding cocktails,” he said.
The blasts began on Friday, November 6, and have continued in important areas across the capital, including near police stations. On Sunday night, explosions occurred simultaneously at at least five thanas and 15 other spots. In Bhatara, a school bus was set on fire in front of the thana the same day, while a passenger bus had been torched in the area earlier. On Saturday night, four to five cocktails exploded in front of Jatrabari Thana. Incidents from evening until midnight have heightened public anxiety.
The limited number of confirmed detentions and the arrest of at least one BNP activist have led some observers to note that the blasts could be the work of elements within the ruling party seeking to blame the banned Chhatra League — a pattern long observed in Bangladeshi politics.
Meanwhile, the banned Chhatra League has announced a nationwide strike on Tuesday to press its demands, including the withdrawal of the ban on the organization, an end to what it calls “farcical revenge trials,” and the cessation of arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention.
The strike comes as the government has recently declared special joint operations by law-enforcement agencies. The police chief has also hinted at the possible resumption of crossfire operations. The developments coincide with reports that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to return from India in December.