Law enforcement agencies, including police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), are on high alert across key points of Dhaka on Thursday (13th November 2025) as the Awami League (AL) called a countrywide ‘lockdown’.
The movement of people and transport, particularly private vehicles, was notably thinner than usual amid growing public anxiety over safety.
Businesses and educational institutions remained open, continuing their regular activities.
Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman, a resident of Gulshan and a well-known therapist, who travelled to Mirpur 7 by motorcycle for urgent work, told UNB, “The number of passenger vehicles was almost half of what we usually see on a weekday. Only a limited number of CNG auto-rickshaws, private cars, and motorcycles were on the streets. However, the police presence on flyovers has significantly reduced the risk of sabotage. I felt quite safe while travelling.”
He added, “It’s clear that fear has kept many people at home today.”
The supporters of BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and allied parties took positions at several points in Dhaka to resist any move by the AL and brought out processions protesting the ‘lockdown’ programme, called as the International Crime Tribunal-1 ( ICT-1) is set to announce a date today for the delivery of judgment in a case against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and others for crimes against humanity, including murders, during last year's July-August mass uprising.
Over the past few days, several incidents of arson and crude bomb blasts were reported in different parts of the country, including Dhaka, intensifying public fears of renewed unrest.
To maintain order, the government deployed 12 platoons of BGB in Dhaka and two more in nearby districts.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali said the force was fully prepared to prevent any act of sabotage related to the lockdown.
Read more: Tension rises in Dhaka ahead of planned ‘lockdown’ amid fears of violence
The tribunal fixed November 13 for fixing a judgment date after both prosecution and defence completed their closing arguments before the three-member panel led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder.
Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh to India on August 5, 2024, amid the mass uprising.
A total of 54 witnesses testified in the trial, including relatives of victims—such as the father of martyr Abu Sayed—and key witnesses like Nahid Islam, Convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), and Amar Desh editor Dr Mahmudur Rahman.
According to the charges, the then Awami League government, along with party leaders, loyal administrators and members of law enforcement agencies, committed crimes against humanity to suppress the student-led July–August uprising.
On July 10, the tribunal indicted Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former IGP Abdullah Al-Mamun, formally beginning the trial. Former IGP Al-Mamun later turned state witness and provided detailed testimony about the incidents.
Besides this case, Sheikh Hasina faces two other cases before the International Crimes Tribunal—one over enforced disappearances and killings during the Awami League’s 15 and a half years in power, and another over the 2013 Hefazat-e-Islam rally killings at Dhaka’s Shapla Chattar.
Read more: Tensions rise as ICT going to set verdict date in Hasina case