2. Introduction:

Ahead of the upcoming national election, ensuring a peaceful, safe, and uninterrupted environment in the country is now one of the state’s top priorities. Considering political tensions, turf dominance, long–standing hostilities, and various pre-election risks, the law-enforcement agencies have decided to launch ‘preventive operations’ in advance. Particularly, four measures—recovery of illegal weapons, arrest of listed terrorists, sealing the border, and increasing intelligence surveillance—are being considered the main pillars of election security.

2. Threat Mapping of Illegal Arms and Emergency Operations:

Past election-related experiences show that—

Political group–backed terrorist gangs,
Local extortion rackets,
Drug-terror networks,
And weapon smugglers entering through border areas
collect a variety of weapons in attempts to display localized muscle power or influence voting.

According to recent information,

RAB, police, and DB have jointly identified “illegal arms hotspots” in 43 districts of the country.

There were concerns about smuggling of locally made and foreign firearms, LGs, revolvers, shotguns, and high-powered weapons like AK-22 and AK-47 into these areas.

In operations conducted over the past few weeks, more than 350 firearms, nearly 5,000 rounds of ammunition, and large quantities of explosives have been recovered.

In some border-adjacent regions, buried arms caches have also been discovered.

Intelligence reports indicate that there were organized plans to use these weapons for sabotage or disorder before the election. Operations have been intensified accordingly.

3. Arrest Operations Targeting Listed Terrorists and Warranted Fugitives:

To prevent potential violence ahead of the election, the law-enforcement agencies are targeting three groups—

(2). Listed terrorists and extortion gangs.
(2). Warranted fugitives.
(3). Groups previously involved in political violence.

Recent operational picture:

The “High-Risk Profile” list prepared jointly by DB and RAB contains about 1,700 individuals.

At least 600 listed terrorists were arrested last month.

In only 16 police station areas of Dhaka, 86 members of 18 notorious gangs were detained during special operations.

Major terrorist networks in Chattogram, Khulna, Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet, Barishal, and Narayanganj have been dismantled.

District-level intelligence units have been instructed—
“Any individual who may engage in election-time violence must be identified and arrested in advance.”

4. Border Sealing and Tight Surveillance to Stop Weapon Inflow:

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Coast Guard, and Navy have been specially deployed before the election.

Red alert issued on weapon-smuggling routes from India, Myanmar, and the maritime border.

Extra checkpoints, increased night patrols, and expanded drone surveillance are in place across border zones.

Special operations are ongoing to break the yaba-arms networks in Cox’s Bazar–Teknaf and the “small arms trafficking chain” in the northern border.

Intelligence agencies report that attempts to bring arms into the country with support from international networks increased ahead of the election. Due to strict surveillance, much of this flow has been contained.

5. Increased Cyber and Digital Monitoring:

This time, cybercrime is also considered a major pre-election security threat.

Facebook pages, anonymous groups, and Telegram-based sabotage plans are under surveillance.

Rapid action teams are working against rumor-spreading or provocative live videos.

Several networks involved in sabotage planning have already been neutralized.

6. Police “Area Cleaning Operation” to Ensure Voter Security:

Before the announcement of the election schedule, each police station has been tasked with—

Suppressing local terrorists and extortionists,
Removing hired musclemen,
Stopping efforts to form tender-based influence groups ahead of voting,
Destroying local illegal arms-manufacturing workshops.

This is being called the “Area Cleaning Operation.”

Joint control rooms of police, RAB, and BGB are being opened in these areas to maintain electoral neutrality.

7. Firm Message to Keep the Election Peaceful:

At the highest level of government, clear directives have been issued—

“No illegal arms holder can remain free under any circumstances.”
“If an armed individual is seen within 500 meters of a polling center, immediate arrest is mandatory.”
“The dominance politics of force-backed groups must be stopped.”
“No one should be allowed to engage in violence stemming from personal hostility during the election period.”

According to intelligence and security analysts, these early measures have significantly reduced the risk of possible sabotage or violence before the election.

8. Conclusion:

Elections are a national security–sensitive matter. Due to coordinated actions by the Election Commission, law-enforcement agencies, the armed forces, and intelligence agencies, the pre-election security situation is now under control. If the three measures—recovery of illegal arms, arrest of listed terrorists, and border surveillance—are successfully implemented, the likelihood of conducting a free, neutral, and peaceful election will increase substantially.