Personal gun licence cannot be used by bodyguard, govt says

Personal gun licence cannot be used for becoming bodyguard or security guard of a private firm.

The home ministry’s Public Security Division issued a notice on Monday reminding the rules to stop use of legal firearms in illegal activities.

It also said licenced firearms cannot be carried openly in public.

The notice came around a month after the arrest of controversial contractor SM Golam Kibria Shamim with seven bodyguards with total eight firearms on Sept 20.

The law enforcers said the guns were bought with licences issued individually to Shamim and his bodyguards, not any organisation.

No one can avail themselves of more than two gun licences.

For organisations, necessary numbers of licences are issued to their chief executives. The users of the guns bought with these licences must secure the home ministry’s no objection certificate following district magistrate’s recommendation.

Security firms in Bangladesh employ guards who use personal gun licences.

The manager of a firm told bdnews24.com they usually employ people who have gun licences. The firms prioritise former officials of government security forces, he said.

“Any individual holding a gun licence cannot be employed as armed guard for personal security of other individual or individuals or to protect their assets,” the home ministry notice said.

The punishment for violation of the rules is immediate cancellation of the gun licence, it said.

Incidents of pulling licenced guns to frighten people often occur in Bangladesh. The home ministry notice also said “some people” were showing guns in public to create panic.

Such actions are also in violation of the rules, it said.

According to the guidelines, an applicant of gun licence must be physically and mentally fit.

They must also have records of paying certain amounts of income taxes for three tax years consecutively. The minimum amount varies between Tk 100,000 and Tk 300,000 for different types of guns.