In Bangladesh’s special joint forces operation, “Operation Devil Hunt,” another 389 people have been arrested across the country. This brings the total number of arrests to 4,790 in the nine days from the night of February 8 to the afternoon of February 16. All those arrested are leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations. Allegations have surfaced that leaders of the so-called Anti-Discrimination Student Movement are irregularly leading the operation.
According to reports, law enforcement authorities have been arresting Awami League leaders and activists based on a list provided by these student leaders. Additionally, many of those arrested had no prior cases against them. During these arrests, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leaders have allegedly engaged in looting, robbery, and vandalism at the homes of Awami League activists.
On Sunday (February 16) evening, police headquarters released information regarding these arrests.
According to police headquarters, in the last 24 hours (from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon), 389 people were arrested under Operation Devil Hunt. Additionally, 751 individuals were arrested in various other cases outside of this special operation.
Notably, a violent incident occurred at the residence of former minister AKM Mozammel Haque in Gazipur, where leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement were attacked by locals who suspected them of being robbers. Following this incident, the Ministry of Home Affairs held a meeting with law enforcement agencies and decided to launch Operation Devil Hunt. On the night of February 7, during an attempted robbery at the former Liberation War Minister’s house, 15–16 students were attacked.
The leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement claim that they had gone to prevent the robbery after hearing about it, but they were attacked. They allege that Awami League “leaders” deliberately carried out the attack. One injured individual later died while undergoing treatment. However, video footage analysis has reportedly shown that it was actually the leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement who entered the house to loot and commit robbery.