Says home adviser
Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury yesterday announced rewards for information leading to the recovery of firearms looted during the July uprising, with the highest amount of Tk 5 lakh for the recovery of a light machine gun (LMG).
Anyone providing information leading to the recovery of a sub-machine gun (SMG) will get Tk 1.5 lakh, Tk 1 lakh for a Chinese rifle, Tk 50,000 for a pistol or shotgun, and Tk 500 for each bullet, he told reporters at the Secretariat. He said the identity of informants will be kept strictly confidential.
Jahangir said the government has taken measures to prevent recruitment-related corruption in law enforcement agencies. "In the past, there were allegations of trade in transfers and recruitment. We have taken steps to stop such practices," he said.
The Awami League government was overthrown in a student-led uprising on August 5 last year, when 5,753 firearms and 6,51,609 rounds of ammunition were looted from various police stations and outposts, according to police headquarters.
More than 1,300 looted firearms and over 2,50,000 rounds of ammunition remain missing, with many reportedly now in the hands of criminals and being used in crimes across the country. Among the unrecovered weapons are rifles, SMGs, LMGs, 7.62x25mm pistols, 9x19mm pistols, shotguns, gas guns, teargas launchers, and 26mm signal pistols.
Replying to a query, the home adviser said they would take steps to bring back a Bangladeshi police officer detained by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) with the help of Interpol.
The BSF detained Mohammad Arifuzzaman, an assistant superintendent at the Armed Police Battalion in Mymensingh, from Chabbis Pargana district of West Bengal on Saturday evening for illegally crossing the border.
Arifuzzaman had earlier served as an assistant superintendent of Rangpur Metropolitan Police. He had been absent from duty since October 13 last year. He is also an accused in a murder case and was suspended from service after remaining absent without authorisation.
In the briefing, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam said he has sought an explanation from Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Nazmul Karim Khan over reports of roadblocks during his movements.
The IGP made the remark after a journalist raised the issue with the home adviser, who said the matter had been discussed in the meeting and that the IGP had already taken steps.
Asked about the measures, the IGP said, "We have sought an explanation from him initially."
Earlier, Bangla daily Prothom Alo reported that the GMP commissioner resides in Dhaka's Gulshan, and roads on his route to and from Gazipur are routinely closed, causing sufferings to commuters.
