The police strengthened their surveillance and security over threats of attacks by banned extremist organisations on important state establishments, places of religious worship, recreation centres and the capital city’s Shahbagh crossing.

The possible attacks are feared on state establishments that include the Jatiya Sangsad and police and army establishments or their members, according to a Police Headquarters letter signed by a deputy inspector general of police (confidential) on Friday.

The letter said that the police had received information that two sacked army members had been in regular contacts with recently arrested banned extremist outfit member Ishtiaque Ahmed alias Sami alias Abu Bakar.

‘I have already conveyed the message to all officials concerned across the country today. We have received such information of threat and nothing else,’ Special Branch chief Sardar Nurul Amin told New Age on Saturday.

Sardar, also an additional inspector general of police, urged people not to panic as it was a routine policing work.

A PHQ official seeking anonymity said that the police had received the tip-off about the threat from an intelligence agency.

He, however, did not mention the name of the agency and the banned outfit organisation.

According to the attachment accompanying the letter, the possible attackers include Mohamamd Rahed Hossain, 23, a resident of Sylhet, who studied at NU High School in Sylhet and is now involved in a business.

Another possible attacker is Md Rakib Hasan, 20, hailing from Dhamrai in Dhaka district, who works in a company at Basundharatek in Savar Cantonment area, according to the attachment.

The attachment showed that Rakib had not gone to his locality in several years and his father is a bus driver, who is a drug addict and was arrested several times for selling drugs and was in jail as well.

The letter asked additional inspectors general of Highway Police, Armed Police Battalion, Industrial Police, Anti-Terrorism Unit, Police Brerau of Investigation, Criminal Investigation Department to strengthen security in all important establishments mentioned and asked them to increase surveillance and to take legal actions against the individuals mentioned.

The other respondents include additional inspector general of the Special Branch, Police Staff College rector, additional inspector general of the River Police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioners, deputy inspectors general of police of all ranges, superintendents of police in all districts and officers-in-charge of all police stations.