Bangladesh Police has issued a nationwide alert over possible attacks on law enforcement vehicles. The order underscores heightened security before August 5 amid recent bomb scares in Dhaka.
Bangladesh Police has issued a nationwide alert over possible terrorist or extremist attacks on vehicles used by law enforcement agencies, following intelligence reports. Police units across the country have tightened security, with special focus on official vehicles such as jeeps, trucks and buses.
The internal directive was issued on Saturday by the Operations Control Branch without naming the source of the threat. It comes just ahead of August 5, the second anniversary of the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government after violent student-led street protests in 2024.
A police headquarters official familiar with the situation said on Sunday, “In line with a directive of our OCB, police units enforced the tightened vigil throughout Bangladesh against possible sabotage targeting particularly police vehicles, including jeeps, trucks and buses.” According to the directive, police have been told to protect official vehicles both when they are moving and when they are parked. It also said vehicles stopped temporarily must be kept in secure places under constant watch. “No government vehicle should be left unattended…even inside police stations,” the official said, citing the directive.
The alert also comes after recent bomb scares in Dhaka. Police said the bomb disposal unit defused a remote-controlled explosive device hidden under an abandoned umbrella at the Motijheel metro station. Two abandoned bags at two other stations also caused alarm, though the unit later said they contained only betel leaves and tobacco.
While the directive coincides with the anniversary of the Awami League government’s fall, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime chief Mohammad Shamsul Haque said his unit had no specific intelligence about sabotage plans linked to August 5, but remained on maximum alert. Hasina’s government was toppled in August 2024 after violent student-led protests, following which she fled to India. An interim government that took charge after her ouster later barred the Awami League from taking part in elections through an executive order.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Sunday at a police event in Rajshahi that every incident involving suspicious objects was being thoroughly investigated. “The overall law and order situation remained under control and that the government was maintaining the highest level of vigilance despite a decline in sabotage-related incidents,” he said. His remarks came a day after crowd-sourced global database Numbeo said in its Mid-2026 Crime Index that Dhaka was the most unsafe and crime-prone major city in South Asia. Overall, the latest police alert reflects heightened security measures across Bangladesh ahead of a sensitive date, even as officials say there is no specific intelligence of an August 5 attack plan.
With PTI Inputs
