Labour and Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury on Saturday warned that those responsible for disrupting law and order in Sylhet will not be spared under any circumstances.

“Law enforcement agencies have already been instructed to arrest snatchers and bring them to book,” he said while talking to journalists after attending the Holi festival as the chief guest at Mirzajangal Manipuri Rajbari in the city.

Chowdhury said the Prime Minister has declared a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and extortion. “Such activities will not be tolerated in Sylhet in any way. We want a safe Sylhet,” he said.

On Friday, Khandker Abdul Muktadir, Member of Parliament for Sylhet-1 and Minister for Industries and Commerce, also issued a strong warning against snatchers. A day later, former Sylhet mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury reiterated a tough stance against such criminals.

Meanwhile, Abdul Qaiyum Chowdhury, administrator of the Sylhet City Corporation, said the authorities are committed to maintaining peace in the city.

“We want a peaceful Sylhet. The administration has been instructed to take action against criminals. At the same time, it will also be examined whether anyone is deliberately trying to create instability in the law-and-order situation,” he said.

Speaking as a special guest at the event, he added that members of the Manipuri community have long been contributing to the country’s development. He also noted that former finance and planning minister M Saifur Rahman played a significant role in the development of the community, and that the continuity of that progress remains important.

The event was chaired by Digen Singh, president of the Academy for Manipuri Culture and Arts, while the inaugural speech was delivered by Aniruddha Das, Assistant High Commissioner of India in Sylhet.

Among others who spoke at the programme were Sudip Ranjan Sen Bappu, trustee of the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust, Ilangbam Jayanta Singh of the Manipur State Kala Academy, Prashanta Kumar Singh, president of the Sylhet Debalaya Rathjatra Celebration Committee, Sharadindu Bhattacharya, professor at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, and Rajesh Bhatia, Second Secretary of the Indian Assistant High Commission.