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Cops on red alert

High-ups meet in hurry to take stock of situation

Staff Correspondent
Police and paramilitary forces have been put on red alert across the country, particularly in the capital, to net those responsible for Saturday's grenade attack on Awami League's rally apparently in a bid to assassinate its President Sheikh Hasina.
Highly placed sources said Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday called in State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar and instructed him and all intelligence agencies to launch a massive manhunt to nab the
attackers.
Khaleda also had a meeting yesterday afternoon with her senior cabinet colleagues, including Finance Minister Saifur Rahman, LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Agriculture Minister MK Anwar, todiscuss the latest situation.
"We have no lack of sincerity in nabbing the attackers and all necessary steps have been taken to check repetition of such heinous acts," Bhuiyan, also the secretary general
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of BNP, told journalists after the meeting.
He rejected outright the AL allegation that goons patronised by the government made the attack saying, "No government wants to endanger its position by resorting to such an act."
On the AL's demand for the government's resignation, Bhuiyan said the government has both successes and failures, but "I can assure that we are determined to identify the criminals and root out the crime at any cost," for which he emphasised united efforts by political and social forces.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Babar said police and all intelligence agencies were instructed to keep vigil and guard against any such barbaric attack.
"We have put the highest importance to the incident and taken all-out steps to detect the masterminds behind the bomb- and grenade-attacks," he claimed, adding, "The attackers are not the enemies of just Awami League or the BNP... They are the enemies of the country and we are looking for them."
He said all intelligence agencies were given sharp instructions to identify the criminals at any cost. Besides, police, paramilitary troops and armed police battalion have been deployed to keep vigil on movement of suspects.
Babar said, "Though we are not yet certain about the target of Saturday's grenade attack and the explosions in Sylhet, we are fully convinced that Bangladesh is the prime target."
Yesterday, the state minister in charge of home affairs had lengthy meetings with the chiefs of the intelligence agencies, including Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Special Branch (SB) of police. He also held meetings with top police, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and ministry officials.
Highly placed sources said the intelligence agency chiefs, like in the past, came in the meeting without any clue to the Saturday grenade attack.
"The agencies seem to have no mechanism to detect the criminals involved in the attacks. They have miserably failed to
find out the roots and the persons involved in any of the bomb attacks since the Udichi incident in 1999," a high official at the home ministry said on condition of anonymity.
Babar also sought co-operation from all quarters and media for proper investigation into the attacks, saying "If anyone has any information, please tell us to help the investigation."
Earlier, several ministers, including Tariqul Islam and M Shamsul Islam, dozens of state ministers and BNP lawmaker met with Mannan Bhuiyan and discussed the situation.
All of them expressed grave concern at the recent spate of bomb attacks in the country and seemed worried at the attacks on Hasina. They said such attacks might also be made on them if the spree continues.
The ministers and MPs urged the BNP secretary general to talk with the PM immediately and convene a meeting of all political parties and social bodies to decide how to put an end to the situation.
They suggested it is time to make united drive with all political and social forces to safeguard the country's independence and sovereignty.
They also suspected that there might be a quarter behind the attacks that wants to prove Bangladesh as an ineffectual state and so are resorting to killing politicians, journalists, police and innocent people.