Dhaka, March 7 -- The authorities have deployed a large number of police and Rapid Action Battalion personnel at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque after Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned Islamist organisation, announced a programme at the location. Bags carried by Muslim devotees coming to the prayer service at the mosque are undergoing security checks.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police had already issued an alert regarding the Hizb ut-Tahrir's programme. On Friday, the Police Headquarters said in a statement, "Hizb ut-Tahrir is a banned outfit. According to the law, all of their activities are punishable offences."

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime, or CTTC, unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police have also arrested three members of Hizb ut...