Law enforcement agencies are on high alert across Bangladesh, including capital Dhaka, amid rumours about the deteriorating health of Bangldesh National Party (BNP) chairperson and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

According to several senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) officials, police personnel have been instructed to remain vigilant from the top echelons of the government to check mischief surrounding the health of Khaleda Zia and rumours about her impending death on social media.

The leaves of senior security officials have also been canceled across the country and they have been ordered to return to their respective workplaces immediately, UNI news agency said. 

BNP MPs recently formed a human chain in front of the Bangladesh Parliament to appeal to President Abdul Hamid to intercede with the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and arrange for her medical treatment abroad.

"At the crossroads of life and death is our leader Begum Khaleda," said Golam Mohammad Siraj, an MP.

"Today, I have no language of condemnation, no language of protest for what the Prime Minister has said about the treatment of Begum Khaleda Zia at a recent press conference," another MP, Harunur Rashid said, as BNP cadres intensified their protests across the country. 

(SAM)