Staff Reporter

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducted an extensive search for explosives at the Jatiya Press Club to no avail after an anonymous caller made apparently a hoax call yesterday.

RAB legal and media wing director Abul Kalam Azad told the New Nation that an anonymous caller had told them that the club would be blown off at around 12:30pm. The Press Club was cordoned off during the search in the lounge, canteen, media centre, library and other areas.

The club management committee general secretary Kamal Uddin Sabuj said, “Such a bomb panic at the press club is unprecedented.”

“However, the law-enforcing agencies told me that they did not get any bomb after searching the compound,” Sabuj said.

He urged the government to be more careful about the security of a national institution like press club, because it is the government’s duty to ensure security of the club’s members and others concerned.

A 40-member team of RAB entered the club around 11:30am after they got information over telephone.

Lieutenant Mamun Mahmud Firoz Chowdhury, commanding officer of Rab-3 told the New Nation that an anonymous person called them and said the club would be blown up.

Two discussion meetings inside the club were halted for the search operation. Participants vacated the club before RAB started the search with metal detectors and sniffer dogs.

The press club was cordoned off during the search in the lounge, canteen, media centre and library.

Two discussion meetings were interrupted at the club during the search. RAB asked the attendees to get out before searching the rooms with sniffer dogs.

Of the two programmes, one titled “Six months into Peelkhana Killings: Citizens’ Thought” was organised by Renaissance Institute, which was attended by BNP MP MK Anwar and Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general M Quamaruzzaman.

The other programme marking National Mourning Day was being attended by health state minister Mojibur Rahman Fakir.

However, the Press Club treasurer Syed Abdal Ahmed said no scheduled programmes were suspended for the bomb threat.

A hoax bomb threat, made by an anonymous caller, forced the Dhaka Stock Exchange to shut down an hour earlier than the scheduled close of trading on June 29.

Additional contingents of Rab and police were deployed around the club.