Police will no longer have heavy weapons: Home adviser

The police will no longer have lethal or heavy weapons, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant (Retd) General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said today (14 June).
 
Replying to a question about the meaning of deadly weapons, he said, "By deadly weapons, I mean that there will be no large weapons (in the hands of police). Rifles will still be there."
 
"Now, knives are also deadly weapons. People can be killed with that too," he said after visiting the offices of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn).

Mentioning that the role of APBn and the role of other police are not the same, the adviser said each unit is created for a different role.

"If we ever have to fight (a war), they (APBn) will fight alongside the army. Others will also fight, but APBn will be at the front. That's why their weapons are different from other units. For example, the naval police need more watercraft. On the other hand, the industrial police need different types of equipment," he said. 
 
Regarding the law and order situation in the past 10 months, he said, "This time during Eid, you could not report anything bad. This shows that law and order has improved a lot."
 
"It's not that there haven't been a few small incidents. There have been a few thefts and robberies. But there has not been any major problem," he said. 

When asked about the recent incident where a person wearing a RAB-like uniform allegedly robbed Tk1 crore in Uttara, Jahangir Alam said, "Even if he is from RAB, he won't get away with it.

"Many times, many people wear RAB and police uniforms and commit many misdeeds; they won't get away with it either."
 
In response to another question about what steps are being taken to check traffic jam, the adviser said that they are trying the best to reduce it.
 
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman were present, among others, during the visit.