Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General (DG) M Khurshid Hossain said that there is nothing to worry about the letter that warned of an attack on the Mangal Shobhajatra, a procession brought out every year celebrating Bengali New Year.
“There is no information about any specific terrorist attack on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh. The letter against Mangal Shobhajatra is not actually a threat from any militant organisation, rather a third person sent it just to spread panic,” he said while talking to journalists after inspecting the security measures in Ramna Batamul area in the capital on Thursday.
Earlier on Tuesday night, the organisers of Mangal Shobhajatra received a letter from anonymous sources that warned of an attack on Pahela Baishakh celebrations.
Abatahi Rahman, one of the organisers, filed a GD with Shahbagh Police Station Tuesday night, after discovering the letter attached to a chair at Dhaka University's fine arts faculty.
The RAB DG said, “We are cautious about this. Our intelligence surveillance is continuing. The civil team are also working to ensure the security. There is no reason to worry about it.”
Informing that no specific information has been found regarding the terrorist attack, the RAB DG said that their cyber monitoring team has continued online monitoring to prevent the spreading of any kind of rumour or misinformation through social media.
Khurshid said RAB has taken special security measures to ensure safety during Pahela Baishakh celebrations. To ensure overall security, sufficient number of RAB personnel has been deployed in different areas across the country.
Special security arrangements have been made to ensure the security of the areas where the New Year celebrations will take place. Check-posts and observation posts have been set up at different areas including TSC, Shahbagh, Suhrawardy Udyan and Ramna Batamul area, he said.
Meanwhile, after visiting Ramna Batamul area on Thursday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq said that Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year, is the festival of the soul of Bengali nation.
Every year the Bengali New Year ceremony begins with the music of Chhayanaut in Ramna Batamul area. The celebrations will start tomorrow in the same way. Three levels of security measures have been taken on this occasion, he said.
The DMP commissioner said visitors will be able to enter into Ramna Park and five gates to exit from the park. Each gate will have an archway and visitors will not be allowed to carry any bags. Everyone can stay at the park from 6am to 4pm.
