Bill placed in parliament to give Ansar forces power to detain criminals

A draft law has been tabled in the Jatiya Sangsad giving the Ansar battalions similar powers to Bangladesh Police – detaining criminals, conducting body searches and seizing goods.

Some members of the parliament of opposition parties objected to the bill, saying might create Ansar as a parallel force to the Bangladesh Police

The Ansar Battalion Bill, 2023, was placed in the Parliament on Monday by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, keeping the death penalty as the maximum punishment for different crimes, including mutiny and provocation for rebellion.

Jatiya Party member Fakhrul Imam objected to the bill.

"Ansar forces were created to assist the law enforcement. But according to clauses-7 and 8 in this bill, Ansar forces can do what the police do. The authority to arrest is given on the orders of the officer-in-charge like the police. If the bill is passed like this, the Ansar force will become parallel to the police," he said.

He urged that the powers of police and Ansar forces be kept separate.

In response to Fakhrul's objection, Home Minister Asaduzzaman said in order to meet the required deployment of law enforcement forces during the upcoming election, Ansar members must also be deployed along with the police.

He said the government has no plan to create Ansar as a parallel force to the police. There are Ansar in the hilly areas to support the army. 

"There is no desire to create a conflicting force with the police. Ansar forces are doing a lot of work. Laws are being made to manage them," the minister said.

He added that if there are any conflicting provisions in the proposed bill, it will be amended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

The bill was sent to the respective committee for further examination. It was asked to submit its report within three working days.