Tight security measures at Sholakia Eidgah
A four-tier security system has been set up for the safety of thousands of devotees from different parts of the district and outside who are expected to gather at Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj to attend the largest Eid congregation in the country.
An attack near Sholakia Eidgah on the Eid day on July 7 in 2016 left four people ,including two on duty policemen, a woman and a suspected assailant.
CCTV and video cameras have been installed in and outside the ground to monitor the area, said Superintendent of Police Md Mashruqure Rahman Khaled.
A huge number of policemen, in uniform and in plainclothes, and personnel of other law enforcement agencies will be deployed at 50 points at the Eidgah and its adjacent areas, he added.
Twenty four check-posts and 12 patrol teams will also be included in the security measures, said District Intelligence Officer-2 in Kishoreganj Muhammad Murshed Zaman.
Police will also use two drones for the first time, the official said.
Besides, five platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will also be deployed to maintain highest security in and outside the Sholakia ground, he added.
Units of Fire Service and Civil Defense, medical teams and ambulances will also be part of the precautionary measures,
On July 10 in 2016, police sued two suspected militants and “some other” unnamed people for the attack.
Mohammad Shamsuddin, the then officer-in-charge (OC) of Pakundia Police Station, filed the case with Kishoreganj Sadar Police Station under Anti-Terrorism Act 2009.
The arrestees were Shariful Islam alias Shafiul Islam alias Saiful Islam, 22, of Raniganj Bazar in Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur and Jahidul Haque Tanim, 24, of Paschim Tarapasha village in Kishoreganj Sadar upazila.
Shafiul and an unidentified youth were killed in a “shootout” between Rab and a criminal gang in Nandail upazila of Mymensingh in August in 2016.
Investigation Officer (IO) of the case Md Arifur Rahman, also OC (investigation) of Kishoreganj Sadar Police Station, said five accused were arrested and they are in jail now.
Mohamamd Ichhamuddin, 70, who lives adjacent to the Eidgah, said the massive security measures will encourage those attending Eid prayers.
Commissioner of Char Sholakia ward of Kishoreganj Municipality Mohammad Sultan Miah expressed his satisfaction over the all-out security measures taken by the administration.
Gourango Nath Bhowmik, husband of Jharna Rani Bhoumik who was killed in the Sholakia attack in 2016, said the presence of devotees was comparatively less last year but the gathering could be larger this year.