Border guard troops have been deployed to check growing apprehension among political parties, says Election Commissioner Md Rafiqul Islam.
“Many, including the political parties have been alleging on the growing spate of attacks. So, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was deployed to check apprehension,” Islam said on Tuesday (Dec 18).
Speaking to the media at the Commission’s office in the city’s Agargaon, Islam said that he, however, was not aware on the details of the deployment.
Responding to a query on the Commission’s previous statement on deploying para-military force from Dec 22, he said, “You, the media, have been reporting of a deteriorating situation and the spate of attack. That’s why we decided to deploy the BGB from today.”
A total of 1,016 BGB platoons will be deployed across the country to act as law enforcers for the national parliamentary election.
Troops were dispatched from Dhaka on Monday (Dec 17), said BGB Headquarters spokesperson Mohsin Reza.
Fifty platoons will be deployed in Dhaka, he said, but could not provide the exact number of BGB personnel to be deployed.
Each platoon of the border security force has between 10 and 30 personnel, according to Reza.
According to the EC’s scheduled plans, the armed forces are to be deployed six days before Election Day. They will also remain deployed two days after the voting on Dec 30.
The armed forces personnel, including the BGB, Coast Guard, Ansar Battalion, will act as a striking force. Each of the teams will have an executive magistrate.