Police HQ warns of strict action if 'anti-socials threaten anyone'
The warning comes amid a surge in mob violence across the country, prompting widespread severe criticism, including from interim government advisers
The Bangladesh Police will take strict action against 'anti-social' individuals if they threaten anyone, the police headquarters said in a statement today (10 February).
"In recent times, it has come to the attention of the police that anti-social people are issuing various types of threats to people of different classes and professions in the country. Making any kind of threat to any person is a crime in the eyes of the law," the police statement reads.
"If any person is a victim of such threats, they are requested to immediately call the national emergency service 999 or the nearest police station," it adds.
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The statement also reads that the police are determined to ensure the safety and security of every citizen of Bangladesh.
"If anti-social forces threaten any peace-loving citizen, strict legal action will be taken against them," the police statement reads.
The warning comes amid a surge in mob violence across the country, prompting widespread severe criticism, including from interim government advisers.
Earlier in the day, Adviser Mahfuj Alam called for an end to mob violence.
In a post on his verified Facebook profile, he said, "If you are in favour of the uprising, stop mob violence, and if you don't stop it, you will be treated as devils."
Mahfuj said the interim government will deal with mob violence with a strong hand from now on.
His post came just hours after an agitated crowd besieged a stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair at Suhrawardy Udyan for displaying a book of writer Taslima Nasrin.
Several videos of the incident have gone viral on social media platforms.
In one of the videos, the crowd can be heard asking a writer, who was present in the stall, to "hold his ears".
The Dhaka Tribune, in a report, identified the writer as Shatabdi Vobo.
"He was taken out of the fair with the help of police. At that time, the writer had to publicly apologise. The stall was temporarily closed immediately after this," the Dhaka Tribune report states.
