Police have arrested 1,308 people so far in 'Operation Devil Hunt,' which began across the country, including Dhaka. They were arrested after conducting the operation from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon.
Enamul Haque Sagor, Assistant Inspector General (Media and Public Relations) of Police Headquarters, confirmed the matter to the Daily Observer on Sunday night. He said that during the operation, 274 people were arrested from metropolitan cities, while 1,034 were detained from different parts of the country, according to sources at the police headquarters.
The interim government announced the launch of a nationwide raid called 'Operation Devil Hunt' following the attack and vandalism of the house of former Liberation War Minister AKM Mozammel Haque in Gazipur, and the injury of several people in the counter-attack. Later, the government launched this on Saturday, focusing on addressing criminal activities and maintaining law and order across the country.
Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told reporters after a programme on Sunday that they have launched an operation against those who want to destabilise the country. "And until the 'Devil' is over, 'Operation Devil Hunt' will continue," he added.
In response to a question, the adviser said, "What does devil mean?
Satan is the target here. Those who try to destabilise the country, those who disobey the law, criminals and terrorists, those are its targets."
The Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) and the district police have arrested 81 Awami League leaders and activists involved in the attack on students at Dhirashram in Gazipur city and the ongoing Operation Devil Hunt.
Most of the arrestees are Awami League leaders and activists, said Taherul Haque, Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Ops) of Gazipur Metropolitan Police and Gazipur District Police Superintendent Chowdhury Md Jaber Sadek.
Meanwhile, four people, including the general secretary of the Powro Swechasebak League, have been arrested in a joint force devil hunt operation in Gopalganj, confirmed Mizanur Rahman, Gopalganj Superintendent of Police.
Bangladesh Navy-led joint forces last night conducted several joint operations at different places in Hatia upazila of Noakhali district and detained five alleged terrorists with various types of local weapons, according to a release from the Directorate of the Inter-Services of Public Relations (ISPR).
The members of the Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard, and Police jointly conducted the drives based on secret information and later handed over the detainees to the police.
