RAB to be restructured, police to stop carrying lethal weapons: Home adviser
The meeting also approved a plan to restructure the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
Highlights:
- Police personnel must surrender all lethal weapons
- APBN will remain armed with deadly weapons despite new policy
- Committee to decide what non-lethal weapons police may carry
- Govt to restructure RAB; committee formed under Security Adviser Abdul Hafiz
- Police will still be allowed to use rifles
The police will no longer be allowed to carry lethal or deadly weapons and must surrender those they have, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said today (12 May).
However, the Armed Police Battalion (APBN) will continue to be equipped with such weapons.
The decision was made at the 9th meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Law and Order, held this afternoon at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
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The meeting also approved a plan to restructure the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
A committee headed by Security Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Abdul Hafiz has been formed to determine the future structure, name, and operational scope of the RAB, said the home adviser.
In addition, a separate committee, led by Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, special assistant to the chief adviser at the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been tasked with deciding what types of weapons the police may carry and how they will be used.
In response to a media query, the home adviser clarified that police personnel will still be allowed to carry rifles.
He also announced that all garment workers must be paid their wages before Eid.
"Employers are obligated to pay due salaries, but any illegal demands by workers will not be accepted. Unlawful protests will also not be tolerated," he said.
To strengthen public safety at sacrificial cattle markets, the adviser said each market in the capital will be required to deploy 100 members of the Ansar force.
He also stated that the Highway Police will remain active on the roads during Eid to ensure smooth travel and prevent extortion.
Discussions on push-ins by India
The home adviser highlighted that the primary focus of today's meeting was the issue of India's "push-in" of individuals.
He stated that India has forcibly returned a significant number of people, the majority of whom are identified as Bangladeshi citizens.
The director general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), also present at the meeting, reported that on 7 and 8 May, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) pushed approximately 200 individuals into Bangladesh. These forced entries occurred in the uninhabited areas of Roumari (Khagrachhari), Panchhari, and Kurigram.
The BGB has conducted verifications through the police and Special Branch (SB), confirming that many of these individuals had traveled to India within the last two to three years or earlier.
Furthermore, it was found that they possessed various Indian documents, including Aadhaar cards. Efforts are currently underway through the Bangladeshi administration to determine their permanent addresses in Bangladesh.
The BGB director general also noted that among those pushed in were 39 Rohingya individuals who had previously gone to India from Bangladesh.
Notably, five of these Rohingya were found to possess identification cards issued by the UNHCR in India.
A flag meeting has been convened regarding this matter, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will formally inform India, said the BGB chief.
