Law enforcement forces have detained more than 700 people in connection with Saturday's (29 July) violence during Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) sit-in programme, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said today.

"Among the detained, those who were not involved in violence will be released from the police station. We have already caught more than 700 people red-handed. We also caught those who went to set fire," the home minister said while speaking to journalists following his meeting with the four-member election monitoring team, led by US political analyst Terry L Isley, at the secretariat on Sunday (30 July).

"Nowadays there are CCTV cameras everywhere, we are taking advantage of that. People are handing over the miscreants. Although many times they escape the attention of the police, people catch them and bring them before us, we are also catching them, not letting anyone off the hook," he added.

However, the home minister could not tell how many people were sent to court from the police station.

He said that the delegation wanted to know the preparation of the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the upcoming national parliament elections.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs has informed that there are 1 million members of the Police, BGB, Ansar and Coast Guard, who are skilled and competent enough. The force will be enough for a free and fair election," the minister said.

Meanwhile, at least 11 cases have been filed against 549 leaders and activists of the BNP over the violent events that unfolded around the party's sit-in programme at major entry points of the city on Saturday.

The cases were filed for clashes, vandalism and arson attacks that took place on Saturday, said KN Niyoti Roy, additional deputy police commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Media and Public Relations division.

The cases were filed by the suffering people and sub-inspectors of Kodomtoli, Jatrabari, Uttara West, Uttara East, Bongshal, Airport and Sutrapur police stations.

469 accused have been named and another 70-80 unnamed persons were made accused in the cases filed. Senior leaders of the BNP were dropped from the cases.

As of Sunday noon, 149 BNP leaders and activists have been arrested in the 11 cases filed in different police stations of the capital.

Senior BNP leaders were dropped and another 70-80 unnamed persons were made accused in the cases filed.