Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md. Sajjat Ali has directed police to open fire on anyone attempting to set vehicles on fire or throw petrol bombs.

The instruction was announced on Sunday afternoon during a live radio broadcast.

Speaking to the media, Commissioner Sheikh Md. Sajjat Ali said, “If anyone sets fire to a bus or throws petrol bombs, and attacks the police, officers have been instructed to fire. This is allowed under the law. I have asked the force to perform their duties within the legal framework.”

A similar directive was issued last week by the Chattogram Metropolitan Police Commissioner during the prohibition of an Awami League ‘lockdown’ programme. The DMP announcement came five days later.

The announcement comes ahead of the verdict in the case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and three others at the International Crimes Tribunal, scheduled for Monday, 17 November. The Awami League has called an online two-day “complete shutdown” programme to coincide with the verdict.

Earlier, between 10 and 13 November, the party – whose activities are currently under restriction – staged protests and a “Dhaka lockdown” programme. During this period, incidents of bus and train fires and petrol bomb explosions were reported in Dhaka and other parts of the country.