Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) detained some 141 people in an overnight raid in the city following a bomb hoax near the Gulshan puja mandap.
Commander AK Azad, director of Rab's Legal and Media Wing, told The Daily Star that Rab launched the special drive to ensure full-proof security during the Durga Puja.
Most of the arrestees are snatchers, muggers and drug addicts, sources said.
A rumour spread that an Arges grenade was found near the Gulshan puja mandap in Banani last night.
However Officer In-charge of Gulshan Police Station Kamaluddin said that the object contained no explosive.