The arrests were made during raids in different areas of the capital from Saturday (November 8) to Sunday (November 9). Police said all the detainees are leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations. Evidence of the plan was reportedly found on their mobile phones.
Confirming the information, Muhammad Talebur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of the DMP’s Public Relations Department, said that the detainees were conspiring to create public panic through sudden processions in the capital and to disrupt law and order. “They were also planning to release one lakh gas balloons featuring slogans of the banned Awami League around the State Guest House Jamuna and other parts of Dhaka between November 10 and 12,” he said.
According to the DMP, the Detective Branch (DB) divisions made the arrests as follows: DB Mirpur (3), Ramna (3), Cyber Division (2), Motijheel (4), Wari (5), Uttara (2), Tejgaon (2), Lalbagh (3), and Gulshan (1).
DB sources said evidence of the balloon plot was discovered through WhatsApp and other messaging apps on the detainees’ phones. They had exchanged digital graphics showing the slogans to be printed on the balloons and shared messages detailing where and how to collect the balloons and gas supplies.
