Home
+
Published : 04 Sep 2024, 01:27 AM
A joint operation involving multiple security forces has begun at midnight to recover looted police firearms, ammunition, and all other illegal arms.
On Sept 1, Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury announced that the operation to retrieve the looted weapons would commence on Wednesday.
The operation will involve the Bangladesh Army, police, Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB, Border Guard Bangladesh, or BGB, Coast Guard, and Ansar forces.
It is being conducted based on specific lists and intelligence reports, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police crime division officials.
According to Police Headquarters, a total of 5,829 various types of weapons and 606,742 rounds of ammunition were looted from police stations, outposts, and other police establishments during the uprising.
Although more than half of the looted firearms were returned by the deadline of Sept 3, less than half of the ammunition has been recovered.
As of now, 2,066 weapons and 320,660 rounds of ammunition remain unaccounted for.
These missing arms and ammunition have raised concerns for public safety.
On Aug 25, French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy expressed concerns over the looted weapons during a meeting with Advisor Jahangir.
In addition to the looted weapons, the government has suspended all firearms licences issued to civilians during the 15 and a half years of the deposed Awami League government.
Licence holders were instructed to surrender their firearms and ammunition to the relevant police stations by Sep 3.
Enamul Haque Sagor, assistant inspector general of police (media), said those who received firearms licences after 2009 and fail to surrender their weapons by the deadline will be considered to possess illegal arms.
There are also weapons illegally acquired by criminals, he added.
Regarding the operation, AIG Enamul said: "We have preliminary information about these [unsubmitted licensed] firearms.”
“The joint operation will focus on recovering these, as well as other illegal weapons, based on intelligence reports," he said.
