Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali has instructed police personnel to open fire if anyone attempts to torch vehicles or hurl crude bombs that endanger lives.

The directive was issued through a wireless message on Sunday afternoon; the commissioner confirmed it to The Daily Star.

"Yes, I have given such a directive. If anyone sets a bus on fire or throws a cocktail and attacks police, will they sit idle?" he told The Daily Star this evening.

The instruction comes five days after the Chattogram Metropolitan Police commissioner gave a similar order, which drew mixed reactions from rights groups and sections of the public.