Cocktail blasts and bus arson meant to spread panic, says DMP

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has said the recent cocktail explosions in different parts of the capital and arson attacks on public transport are being carried out to create panic among the public and for sabotage.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Akhtar Hossain of DMP's Media and Public Relations Division said this on Sunday (8 November) while answering questions from journalists at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road in the capital.

He said police are closely monitoring and investigating every incident of cocktail explosions and arson attacks on vehicles.

Several people involved in these incidents have already been arrested, he said. Among them are members of various banned organisations and their affiliated bodies.

DC Akhtar Hossain said a review of the overall situation has made it clear that a specific group is deliberately carrying out these incidents to spread sabotage and panic.

He said DMP's operational activities and police deployment have been strengthened on the basis of intelligence information.

Mobile parties and picket duties are in place alongside strict surveillance to ensure public safety and remove fear from the minds of the people.

Asked where the materials for making cocktails are being prepared, Akhtar Hossain said the Detective Branch (DB) of police had earlier arrested several people along with cocktail-making materials and explosives.

He also said police are monitoring whether flammable substances are being bought and sold from petrol pumps or elsewhere for sabotage.

He said DMP's operations and activities continue to identify, through CCTV footage observation and analysis, those who are collecting such flammable substances for sabotage.

DMP said intelligence surveillance and operations have been intensified to identify and arrest those involved in these incidents.