The government on Monday deployed the Border Guard Bangladesh troops in
Dhaka city and many places across the country in aid of police amidst
violent protests against the announcement of the schedule for the
upcoming general elections.
The Border Guard Bangladesh personnel were seen patrolling city streets
in Dhaka, Sylhet and Bogra as violence erupted in the evening
immediately after the declaration of the schedule for 10th parliamentary
election, which was rejected by the main opposition Bangladesh
Nationalist Party.
‘We have alerted Border Guard Bangladesh across the country. BGB
personnel would move where necessary to maintain order,’ state minister
for home Shamsul Haque told New Age.
He said that the lawmen were already asked to keep vigil against any
acts of violence as the opposition BNP-led alliance called a 48-hour
blockade programme beginning this morning.
‘If anyone resorts to violence in the name of rail-road-river blockade
programme, he would be brought to book,’ the state minister said.
He said no one would be allowed to terrorise people to halt the national polls.
The BNP in the evening announced the blockade programme rejecting the
election schedule that fixed January 5, 2014 as the polling day.
The opposition alliance has been demanding restoration of the
constitutional provision for a non-party caretaker government to run the
polls-time administration.
Asked about the government’s directives, BGB deputy director general
(operation and training) colonel Hafiz Ahsan Farid said, ‘We are
deploying our troops as per the requirements from local
administrations.’
He, however, said that BGB personnel were already deployed in Dhaka and some other places in aid of the police.
Besides, the police were asked to prevent any sort of anarchy in the
capital and elsewhere in the name of any political programmes, senior
officials concerned said. (source)