Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
Director General (DG) of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) AKM Shahidur Rahman has warned of taking prompt action against any untoward incident in Puja Mandaps and spreading rumour or provocative information on the social media during five-day long sacred Durga Puja of Hindus being celebrated across the country from Sunday.
“If any attack on the Hindu community, vandalism in puja mandap , robbery, theft of puja materials or any other untoward incident occurs by miscreants or evil groups, legal action will immediately be taken against those involved,” he said.
The RAB chief made the remarks yesterday after visiting Dhakeshwari National Temple at Old Dhaka. Rahman also said RAB Cyber Monitoring Team is continuing round-the-clock surveillance online to prevent the spread of any kind of rumours, provocative and false information in the virtual world centring on Durga Puja.
He has called upon all to contact the RAB personnel in case of receiving any information about sabotage centring the Puja.
“RAB Headquarters is monitoring the overall activities round-the-clock. If you receive any information that someone is trying to sabotage the communal harmony of Bangladesh centred on Durga Puja, please inform RAB forces,” he said.
The RAB chief described Bangladesh as a country of communal harmony and said like every year, special security measures have been taken by RAB this year too to ensure security for smooth and peaceful celebration of Sharadiya Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Bangalee Hindus.
“There are a total of 33,355 puja mandap, set up across the country on the occasion of Durga Puja this year. A sufficient number of RAB members will be deployed to deal with any kind of untoward situation during celebration of the Puja,” he said.
The RAB chief also said they have increased intelligence surveillance and patrols across the country from 24 September to ensure overall security.
“Additional security measures will be taken on the day of immersion of idols so that no untoward incident takes place ,” he said.
Like previous years, he said this year too, the Durga Puja will be celebrated with great enthusiasm and religious fervour across the country and everyone will celebrate the puja in a festive manner.
“RAB will perform their duties accordingly with joint collaboration of other law enforcement agencies,” he said.
