Dhaka: Detectives prevented a possible attack on those marching towards Dhanmondi road No 32, marking the Mourning Day, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque told a press briefing after the operation 'August Bite' in a city hotel on Tuesday.

Saiful Islam, the 'militant' who was killed in the anti-militant drive at Hotel Olio International in the city's Panthapath area, was planning to carry out acts of sabotage during the Mourning Day rally, said the IGP, adding that there was a possibility of huge casualties had there been any terror attack.

After being confirmed about secret information on Monday night, a team of law enforcers surrounded the four-storey hotel early Tuesday and cordoned off it in the early hours spotting Saiful at room No. 301 on the 4th floor of the hotel, he added.

As the 'militants' did not respond to law enforcers' call to surrender, around 9:44am, they launched operation 'August Bite' after the militant had set off explosives in which Saiful, son of the imam of a mosque in Khulna, was killed.

At first, the militant blew off the door of his room with one explosive and later killed self with another damaging a wall, furniture, balcony, glasses of the hotel.

A security guard was injured with the splinters caused by the explosions.

An ex-madrasa student and a former member of Islami Chhatra Shibir, Saiful studied Political Science at Khulna BL College when he got connected with Neo JMB, the police chief said.

CTTC chief Monirul Islam said they managed to get identity and other details of Saiful from the register book of the hotel located at West Panthapath.

Saiful who arrived in Dhaka on August 7 in the name of searching a job had three explosives in his bag and he set off two of them, he added.

The law enforcers recovered the third explosive at 11:45pm declaring the operation 'August Bite' closed, said the CTTC chief.