Shawdesh Desk:

Police are on high alert to ensure the foolproof security ahead of the National Mourning Day, said DMP Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam on Saturday.

“Though there’s no security threat ahead of August 15, but we can’t rule out any possibility,” said the DMP chief while talking to reporters after checking the overall security at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32.

“August 15 is an important day and the militants may try to carry out subversive activities in the two-km area of the programme venue if they fail to carry out an attack on the location in a bid to draw attention of the international media. But we think no such incident will happen,” he said.

“Now the cyber technology has captivated the world and militants are recruiting and encouraging people to use it. Recently, the Taliban has urged people to join the war in Afghanistan and some people, responding to their call, have left home. We just want to say the militants are active,” said Shafiqul.

On Thursday, a team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), arrested an alleged leader of a militant group who used to train people for making bombs, he said, adding “We’ve succeeded in arresting the gang.”

People across the country will observe the National Mourning Day, the darkest chapter in the history of independent Bangladesh, on Saturday.

On this day in 1975, the nation’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were assassinated by a cabal of military men.

The government, various socio-cultural, political and professional organisations, including ruling Awami League and its associate bodies, chalked out programmes to observe the day.