No threat of militant attack during Durga Puja: RAB DG

There is no threat of militant attacks in the country ahead of this year’s Durga Puja, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Hindu community, M Khurshid Hossain, director general of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said on Monday.

“Analysing all intelligence and cyber data, no information of terrorist attack centring the Durga Puja, was fund,” Hossain told reporters after visiting a Puja Mandap in Dhaka’s Banani area this noon.

Despite this, RAB’s dog squad, bomb disposal unit, special force commando team and air wing have been kept ready to tackle any such situation, he said.

The RAB will take instant action if vandalism or any untoward incidents take place during the Durga Puja celebration, he said.

RAB’s cyber monitoring teams are working so that no one can spread rumors or propaganda centring the Durga Puja, he said adding an adequate number of RAB forces and members of intelligence agencies have been deployed to thwart any evil attempt to foil the peaceful observance of the Durga Puja.

Durga Puja began on Saturday with Maha Shasthi puja at temples across the country amid festivity and religious fervor.

The five-day annual celebration began with the unveiling of the face of the deity and Kalparambho on the day of Maha Shasthi and it will end on October 5 with the immersion of the idols.

The incarnation (Bodhon) of the Goddess Durga happened on Friday, the day of Maha Panchami.

Durga Puja will be celebrated at 32,168 mandaps across the country this year including 241 in the capital, according to Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad.

In the capital Dhaka, the main puja mandaps are at Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramkrishna Mission and Math, Kalabagan, Banani, Shakhari Bazar and Ramna Kali Mandir.

Major divisional cities including port city Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet and district towns including Faridpur, Dinajpur, Jashore, Kushtia, Satkhira, also witness a massive celebration of Durga Puja.

Durga Puja signifies the birth of Durga with the blessings of gods, as collective energy, to fight the demon king Mahishasura.