Paramilitary troops deployed in Bangladesh

The main opposition BNP called for a three-day nationwide transport blockade on Tuesday, which escalated tensions after two days of deadly violence this week. The Bangladeshi government responded by deploying paramilitary troops overnight and requesting that police departments and other law enforcement agencies step up security surveillance.

According to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), hundreds of paramilitary men would be on patrol in the nation's capital, Dhaka, while the force was spread out around the nation.

A representative for the paramilitary group told reporters, "A required number of BGB platoons are dispatched countrywide to maintain law and order and guard major highways." Meanwhile, the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) declared that they would also be on high alert in main cities.

Late on Monday, senior police officers and representatives from other law enforcement and security agencies evaluated the security situation in a meeting called by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal of the "Core Committee on Law and Order Affairs."

“The heads of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been asked to remain extra vigilant against any act of sabotage and violence during the 72 hours of opposition blockade,” an official familiar with the meeting said.

The opposition blockade was initiated the day after two garment workers in the Gazipur industrial district went on the rampage, demanding higher wages, and were killed in the conflict with the police.

However, instructions were given to the relevant officials in the home and labour ministries to settle the workers' unrest through three-way talks to prevent a situation that would worsen political discontent.

Since a previously established government-formed Wage Board was unable to come to an agreement with labour representatives and factory owners, workers in those industries have been holding protests for better wages over the past week.

Three members of the ruling Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the BNP of former premier Khaleda Zia were among the four individuals who lost their lives on Saturday and Sunday, along with an on-duty police officer in Dhaka and elsewhere.

_{(Photo: Reuters) (With inputs from agencies)}