No special drive yet to recover illegal arms before polls
DOT Desk
With just 18 days remaining to hold the 11th parliamentary polls, no special drive is in sight to recover the illegal firearms in a bid to keep the polls free from muscle power or a show of force.
Besides, no instructions were given by the authorities concerned to the owners of licenced firearms to deposit their weapons, reports Daily Sun.
Before every parliamentary election, keeping legal arms in police custody and launching special drive to recover illegal weapons were customary.
Earlier, it used to be observed that licenced weapons had been submitted before the local government election as well.
Security experts said legal weapons should be submitted before polls for public safety.
They suggested launching special drive against illegal arms to ensure peaceful environment for election.
According to sources in the Home Ministry, around 20,000 arm licences had been issued in the last 10 years of the grand alliance government.
Another source said from 1952 to 2006 some 2,03,000 licences were issued.
Security Expert Major General (Rtd) AK Mohammad Ali Sikder told the daily sun, “During election a tense situation prevails over the country. Besides, we have seen the illegal use of legal arms. We have to ensure public safety since every life is important.”
He recalled the time when law enforcement agencies recovered a huge cache of illegal arms and ammunition from Uttara and Purbachal areas.
These kinds of arms might have been left or stored in various places across the country which could be used during the election.
Sikder suggested launching special drive to recover illegal firearms in the best interest of election.
Contacted, Election Commission (EC) officials told this correspondent that no decision has yet been taken.
But a source said a law and order meeting is scheduled to be held tomorrow, and the decision about recovering firearms might be taken at the meeting.
The owners of licenced arms or their relatives are running for elections that make their opponents a bit panicky.
According to sources in the Public Safety Division of Home Ministry, more than 43,000 owners of licenced arms are traceless. Even the licences of these weapons have not been renewed for a long time.
Earlier in the ninth parliamentary polls, the caretaker government asked all legal arm owners to submit their weapons in two phases while EC took necessary steps in this regard.
The Home Ministry lunched special drive to recover illegal arms to keep law and order under control.
The same trend was followed during the 10th parliamentary election when the Home Ministry issued order that licenced arm owners must not carry or exhibit their weapons from December 27 to January 7 in places where voting would be held.
Mohammad Sohel Rana, assistant inspector general (AIG) of police (Media) at the Police hHeadquarters, told the daily sun, “We are continuing our regular drive according to the directives of Election Commission and the Home Ministry.”
“No special drive has yet been conducted. Operation is being carried out in different places on the basis of intelligence.” He also said: “The field officers were directed to bring those involved in unlawful activities to book.”
Security expert Prof Dr Abdur Rob Khan told the daily sun, “I think the drive against illegal firearms should be conducted earlier to election to level the playing field for polls.”
“On the other hand, deposit of legal arms is also important. I don’t know why no directive has so far been issued,” he added.
It is high time that such a directive got issued since violence has already erupted following the allocation of poll symbols, hoped Rob.