Police detain ‘suspicious’ youngster near Dhanmondi 32

Police on Thursday morning detained a “suspicious” teenage boy from the Dhanmondi 32 area of the capital.

The boy was detained around 10:15 am, confirmed Shah Mostafa Tarikuzzaman, senior assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police for the Dhanmondi zone.

According to police, the detained boy is 14 years old and a resident of Bhaluka upazila in Mymensingh.

Witnesses said the boy was wearing a suit, tie and trousers and carrying a bag. After being stopped, he was taken away in a police van.

Police officer Shah Mostafa Tarikuzzaman told Prothom Alo that the boy’s behaviour and statements appeared suspicious. “He gave confusing answers—at one point claiming to be a student, then saying he was involved with Chhatra Dal, and later with Chhatra Shibir,” he said.

He added that documents and other items found in the boy’s bag suggested a possible link with the banned organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Law enforcement agencies are on high alert to prevent unrest surrounding today’s “Dhaka Lockdown” programme, announced online by the Awami League, whose activities have been banned.

The law and order advisory council decided on Tuesday that anyone suspected of planning subversive acts would be detained immediately.