Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
The Bangladesh Police’s new Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) starts its operations against militancy and terrorism across the country from today.
The full-fledged unit with advanced technology and arms will work to resist the terrors and radicals outfit organizations and maintain the law and order situation for public safety, Home Ministry officials said.
The police force will contain the power of conducting operation, arrest and investigation smoothly without approval of the law enforcing agencies, they said.
The ATU will continue to work under the super observation of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), they added.
The members of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Bomb Disposal Unit and the Dog Squad would be included in the Unit, according to them.
They would try to correct the misguided people with explanations from the Holy Quran and the Hadith, they added.
The Public Security Division of Home Ministry in an order on December 8 approved the full-fledged unit. On August 5, the Committee on Administrative Improvement Affairs approved the home ministry’s proposal to form the new security unit, they further said.
With its headquarter in Dhaka, the ATU will have 581 posts — 31 permanent cadre, and 550 temporary others — with 41 vehicles. The force will set up its offices in all divisional offices.
Headed by an Additional Inspector General, the ATU will have a Deputy Inspector General (DIG), two additional DIGs, five superintendents of police (SP), 10 additional SPs, 12 assistant SPs, 75 inspectors, 125 sub-inspectors, 140 assistant sub-inspectors, 200 constables and 10 office staff.
A liable sources said that Additional IG (former DIG of Dhaka Range) Mohammad Shafiqul Islam would take the charge of the Chief of the Special Unit while Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit Chief Monirul Islam had already been attached with the force as the DIG.
Currently, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit — the only Specialized counterterrorism unit of police under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) — had to to launch anti-militancy operations in areas outside its jurisdiction. Earlier, the CTTC unit, a specialised unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), was formed in February 2016.
The CTTC was also assigned with combating cyber crimes, terror financing and mobile banking related crimes with special permission from the police headquarters for going into action beyond its jurisdiction.
Counterterrorism officials hoped that the new ATU would enhance their capacity in the fight against militancy.
Police have long been demanding the formation of a fully-fledged counterterrorism unit specialised in battling militancy throughout the country.
In the face of growing demand for a special counterterrorism police unit, the government in February last year formed the CTTC to deal with militancy effectively.
At the same time, the police headquarters forwarded the proposal for the “Police Anti-Terrorism Unit” to the home ministry in a bid to step up the fight.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said they wanted to root out militancy from the country and hoped that the special police unit will be able to do so. “We will provide the required arms and equipment to the unit so that they can operate smoothly,” he added.
He said that instead of the CTTC unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the new unit will carry out anti-militancy raids from now on.
The Additional Inspector General (confidential and special affairs) Md Moniruzzaman said that the CTTC unit was formed to work in the capital, but it was allowed to work nationwide.
