1,300 arrested in Bangladesh in nationwide crackdown

Bangladeshi security forces have arrested 1,308 persons as part of “Operation Devil Hunt” amid incidents of mob attacks and vandalism in the country, The Daily Star reported on Sunday.

The country’s interim government launched the security operation on Saturday after student activists were injured during vandalism at the home of an Awami League leader near Dhaka, PTI reported. The Awami League is led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The joint operation involving the Army, the police and their specialised units had led to the arrest of 274 persons mainly in Bangladesh’s metropolitan cities, PTI quoted local media as having reported.

The persons arrested were mostly members of the Awami League and its associate organisations, reported The Daily Star.

Eighty-one members of the Awami League were arrested in Gazipur, 25 km north of the capital Dhaka, PTI reported.

On Friday night, at least 14 persons who were allegedly part of mobs out to vandalise properties linked to the Awami League were injured after being allegedly attacked in Gazipur’s Dakshinkhan area.

The violence took place during an attack on the home of former Liberation War Affairs Minister Mozammel Haque. Haque is among senior leaders of the Awami League who are absconding or have fled the country since the Hasina government was toppled in August.

The leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement claimed that their…

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