Bangladesh Launches ‘Operation Devil Hunt’, Arrests 1308 Nationwide

Dhaka: Bangladesh's security forces have arrested 1,308 people under "Operation Devil Hunt," a nationwide crackdown launched overnight to quell vandalism and unrest that has gripped the country for four days. The operation was ordered by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus-led interim government after student activists were injured during an attack on the house of an Awami League leader on the outskirts of Dhaka.

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury stated that the operation will target those who seek to destabilise the country, stressing that the crackdown would continue until the "devils" are brought to book. "What does 'devil' mean? It refers to evil forces. This operation is aimed at those who try to destabilise the country, break the law, engage in criminal activities, and commit acts of terrorism," Chowdhury explained.

The arrests were made across metropolitan cities and other parts of the country, with 81 activists of the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League being arrested from Gazipur. The violence erupted during an attack on the residence of former Liberation War Affairs Minister Mozammel Haque, who is one of many senior ministers and Awami League leaders on the run since the ouster of Hasina's government.

Notably, the 77-year-old ousted PM Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and has been living in India since then. She and her senior colleagues were charged with numerous crimes, including crimes against humanity, for their brutal crackdown on the July mass uprising that eventually toppled her government.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leaders claimed that their activists were attacked by miscreants while trying to prevent looting at the ex-minister's house. A student was injured in a shooting by miscreants in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office.

The widespread violence that erupted across the country was sparked by a live online address by Hasina, with mobs targeting supporters of the deposed prime minister and vandalising their homes and businesses. Protesters also set fire to the historic residence of Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Chief Adviser Yunus called for "complete law and order" and an end to attacks on the properties of the deposed premier's family and leaders of her "fascist" Awami League. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) urged the interim government to curb "mob culture" and restore law and order, warning that failure to do so could lead to the reemergence of "fascist" forces.