The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) has issued a stern warning against the filing of fabricated lawsuits, confirming that legal action is being taken against individuals who use the historic July 2024 mass movement as a pretext to harass innocent citizens.

The announcement was made by the Detective Branch Chief, Shafiqul Islam, during a press conference held on Thursday morning at the DB headquarters. Although the briefing was primarily arranged to highlight the agency’s recent achievements in dismantling an extensive online gambling ring, the session quickly addressed pressing public concerns regarding judicial misuse and police accountability following the political transition.

Rigorous Review Safeguards Judicial Integrity

In response to reports of retaliatory litigations, the DB Chief sought to reassure the public that the police administration is deeply committed to maintaining transparency, strict legal adherence, and impartial investigations.

“The Detective Branch is presently investigating a total of 59 cases connected to the July movement,” Shafiqul Islam noted. “We are treating every single case with the highest priority and reviewing the facts with absolute diligence.”

To ensure complete objectivity and eliminate systemic bias during the investigative process, the authorities have implemented a robust, multi-tiered oversight mechanism:

• Bi-Monthly Progress Reviews: Specialised evaluation meetings are conducted every fifteen days to critically assess the evidence gathered in each ongoing case.

• Centralised Police Monitoring: A separate, independent monitoring cell has been operationalised at the Police Headquarters to supervise the overall transparency of these inquiries.

• Evidence-Based Final Reports: Final police reports will only be submitted after a thorough, objective analysis of all available digital evidence and witnesses.

The DB Chief categorically stated that under no circumstances would innocent individuals face harassment, promising that those attempting to weaponise the legal system for personal or political malice would themselves face statutory prosecution.

Major Online Gambling Syndicate Neutralised

Alongside updates on judicial reforms, the press conference detailed a major success in the agency’s ongoing crackdown on the underground digital economy. In a targeted operation, the Detective Branch successfully disrupted a sophisticated criminal network executing illegal online gambling and unauthorized financial routing.

The operation led to the arrest of six principal operatives belonging to the illicit cartel. Law enforcement personnel recovered a vast cache of operational equipment, most notably seizing 6,500 mobile SIM cards configured with pre-activated Mobile Financial Services (MFS) accounts.

According to investigative intelligence, the syndicate utilized these thousands of MFS accounts to anonymize transaction trails and launder substantial sums of money generated from online betting platforms. The six detained suspects are currently under intensive interrogation as detectives work to uncover the broader domestic and international links of the network.