DMP Commissioner Orders Police to Open Fire on Anyone Throwing Firebombs or Torching Vehicles

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali has instructed police to open fire if anyone attempts to torch vehicles or throw crude bombs (cocktails).

The directive was reportedly issued on Sunday (16 November) through a wireless message.

Speaking to the media, DMP Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali said, “If anyone sets fire to a bus, throws a cocktail, or attacks the police, officers have been instructed to open fire. This is permitted by law. I have asked the force to perform their duties in accordance with the law.”

Earlier, last week, amid the banned Awami League’s lockdown program, the Chattogram Metropolitan Police Commissioner issued a similar order. Five days later, the DMP Commissioner gave the same instruction.

Notably, the International Crimes Tribunal is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Monday (17 November) regarding charges of crimes against humanity against Sheikh Hasina in connection with the July uprising. Ahead of the verdict, the Awami League has announced a two-day “complete shutdown” starting Sunday.

Before this, from 10–13 November, the banned Awami League called for protests and a “Dhaka Lockdown,” during which incidents of buses and trains being set on fire and crude bombs being thrown were reported in Dhaka and several other areas across the country.