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Published : 04 Nov 2025, 04:18 PM
Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury says anyone involved in extrajudicial killings during the tenure of the interim government will face legal consequences.
He made the remarks at a media briefing following a meeting of the core committee on law and order at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
When asked about a report by an organisation claiming that around 40 extrajudicial killings had taken place over the past 14 months, Jahangir said: “The security forces or any force through which the killings are carried out will be brought to justice.”
The advisor was also asked whether the Army would retain its magistracy powers during the upcoming elections.
“The Army’s magistracy power is still there,” he said.
“Why will it be stripped during the election? Did we remove it? Let the election period arrive, then ask the question at that time.”
Jahangir said provocative statements were being spread on social media, both within and outside the country, to create confusion.
He addressed questions about officers-in-charge (OCs) who served during previous elections and are still posted in several police stations under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
“We have said that we will try to change the maximum number of those who were involved in the 2014, 2018 and 2024 elections. But we also have limits. We can’t do it all. We will first exclude those who were involved in three elections. Then we will move to those who were involved in two.
“After that, if we see that assets remain, we will remove those who were involved in one of the elections. I can’t recruit and bring in new OCs. If we see that there are no complaints against those who were involved in one election, we will have to use them.”
He added, “All efforts are being made to bring back the police members who were working under the previous government and are now fleeing the country. We will try to bring back all the criminals whenever we can,” he said.
Jahangir said the meeting also discussed reports of unrest in parts of the country, noting nomination-related activities of the BNP.
“It happened in a few places, but not as much as we had expected. There were minor incidents in a few places, and these were discussed,” he said.
When asked about the progress of the drive to recover illegal weapons before the next election, he said that 11 firearms had been seized during an operation in Raozan.
“Raozan and Fatikchhari are areas difficult [to enforce law and order]. Criminals who commit crimes in these places go to the mountains. It is not plain like other areas,” he said.
Asked about the formation of a Police Commission, the advisor said: “There was no discussion about the Police Commission in the meeting, but God willing, the police commission will be formed.”
He added, “The commission should be formed first, and an announcement will follow.”
Responding to a question about the burnt cargo area of Dhaka airport and the weapons reportedly stolen during a break-in to a secure vault, Jahangir said: “A committee has been formed for the arson incident. The head of that committee is our senior secretary (Ministry of Home Affairs).
“Letters have been sent to four or five countries for investigation, and experts from two or three countries have come. And after the investigation, we will know whether they were stolen or not.
“If they were stolen, whoever is responsible will be brought under the law. We have not yet been able to establish how many weapons were stolen or whether they were stolen at all. We will know after the investigation.”
He also warned that any policeman who works for a candidate in the next election will face immediate legal action.
“If any police member works for a candidate in the next election, he will be brought under the law immediately as per the rules,” he said.
