Bangladesh Army recovers 6,000 looted guns after August revolution

ZOOMBANGLA DESK : Bangladesh Army recovered more than 6000 illegal guns and arrested over 2,500 people as part of its move to strengthen security since the students-people upsurge that ousted Sheikh Hasina from power on August 5.

Col Intekhab Haider Khan, Colonel Staff of the Directorate of Military Operations, today disclosed the information at a press briefing at Officers Mess-A of the Army Headquarters.

During the press briefing, he spoke about the activities of the Army deployed ‘In Aid to Civil Power’.

At the moment, he said, the army personnel are actively performing their duties in 62 districts across the country in maintaining law and order through coordinated efforts with the interim government, relevant ministries, law enforcement agencies, local administration, various organizations, media and local people.

In performing the duty, he said the army is working to protect people’s life, important infrastructures (KPI) and important public and private institutions.

He said the army is performing to help the police force to be operational again and maintain communal harmony in the country by involving law enforcement personnel. The army is also working to ensure the security of foreign diplomats, embassies and safety of industrial areas to keep factories running, prevent anarchy and vandalism as an expression of discontent in various public and private institutions, keep main roads unblocked to avoid public sufferings and keep the country’s economy moving, he added.

To keep the factories running, he said that various steps have been taken in coordination with the relevant ministries, BGMES and all concerned. As a result, almost all of 2,089 garment factories in the country are currently operating smoothly, he added.

In addition, he said the army controlled more than 700 different types of chaotic situations, including 141 incidents in educational institutions, 86 in government organizations or offices, 98 political conflicts and 388 other various types of incidents.

“In most cases, our timely measurers had helped prevent many unpleasant situations including losses of life and properties,” he said.

He said permanent camps have been set up in diplomatic areas to ensure the security of foreign diplomats and embassies round-the-clock.

Intekhab Haider Khan said the army is also active in recovering illegal drugs, nabbing drug dealers, instigators and plotters of various criminals and subversive activities.

More than 700 drug dealers or people associated with drug trading have been arrested in the joint operations, he said, adding that a large amount of yaba, phencidyl, alcohol, ganja and other illegal drugs have been recovered.

Intekhab Haider Khan said the interim government gave executive magistracy powers to the captains of the armed forces and officers of the above rank on September 17 to facilitate the performance of their duties.

He said due to the effective apply of the special power, the overall law and order situation has already improved significantly across the country.

In addition to these duties, the army with the help of other law enforcement agencies ensured round-the-clock the security of the players, officials and venues of both the teams during the Bangladesh-South Africa Test series.

Intekhab Haider Khan said the countrywide security system was strengthened to allow the Bengali Hindu community to celebrate their biggest religious festival Durga Puja in October this year.

During the festival, additional 133 army camps were set up across the country and more than 10,000 additional troops were deployed. With the combined efforts of all, the Durga Puja festival was celebrated without any significant untoward incidents, he added.

He said adequate security measures were also taken to allow Buddhist community to celebrate Prabarana Purnima and Kathin Chibar Dan festivals safely.

Intekhab Haider Khan said the army provided medical treatment to those who were injured during the anti-discrimination student movement. So far, 3,295 people received treatment in different CMHs of the country.

Replying to a query, he said the army is very conscious about human rights violations or extrajudicial killings. “Our top leadership has given clear instructions that we must not allow any extrajudicial killings under any circumstances. We will make every effort to prevent such incidents,” he added.