Little headway made in stolen arms recovery
It has been over a month since the government announced hefty rewards for tip-offs on firearms looted during last year's mass uprising, but recovery efforts made negligible progress.
Since the rewards declaration, only 25 firearms and 190 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Police Headquarters (PHQ) shows that 5,763 firearms and 6,52,008 rounds of ammunition, including bullets, teargas shells, gas and smoke grenades, were looted from stations and outposts across the country in July and August 2024.
And the whereabouts of 1,350 weapons and over 2,57,659 rounds of ammunition remain unknown as of September 30.
When Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury first announced the rewards on August 10, the number of missing arms was 1,375 and ammunition 2,57,849.
According to the ministry declaration, Tk 5 lakh was promised for the recovery of every light machine gun, Tk 1.5 lakh for a sub-machine gun, Tk 1 lakh for a rifle, Tk 50,000 for a pistol or shotgun, and Tk 500 for every bullet.
Khondokar Rafiqul Islam, additional inspector general (crime and operations) at the PHQ, told The Daily Star on September 25, "There is no immediate solution. These weapons have already gone to different hands, and it will take time to track them down.
"In the early days, we recovered a significant number... but it is unrealistic to think all of them can be recovered quickly."
Police have interrogated suspects, conducted waterbody searches, and carried out routine drives. Yet, recovery remains stalled.
"We see a lack of cooperation even after declaration of reward," said a top police official, requesting anonymity.
Among the unrecovered weapons are rifles, sub-machine guns, light machine guns, pistols of various calibres, shotguns, gas guns, and teargas launchers. Officials fear many have been sold to criminal groups, while others may have been dumped into rivers.
Yesterday, IGP Baharul Alam said the police are yet to determine in whose hands the missing weapons have ended up.
"Some may have gone to separatist groups, some to hill people, and some possibly to groups like ARSA. These are all possibilities, and we are working on every lead," he said while speaking at a press briefing at the PHQ.
NO LICENCES AHEAD OF POLLS
The government has suspended the issuance of new firearm licences before the next election, expected in February.
"In view of the upcoming election, we are not issuing firearm licences to anyone except members of the armed forces, certain high-ranking officials, and for bank security," said a district deputy commissioner.
After August 5, Dhaka's administration issued about 45 licences.
Between 2009 and 2024, the Awami League government issued some 17,200 firearm licences. The interim administration suspended these and ordered surrender of the weapons by September 3, 2024. Of these, 13,340 were deposited while 3,860 were not.
Those not surrendered are now deemed illegal, with police drives under way to recover them.
After scrutiny, the government has so far returned around 3,000 weapons submitted last year.
Officials confirmed that no more arms would be returned before the polls, and even those released could be asked to return.
Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Tanvir Ahmed said, "We are discouraging civilian applicants for new licences unless there is an urgent and unavoidable need."
LICENCES CANCELLED
The home ministry has cancelled 1,177 licences, mostly linked to AL politicians and businesspersons. The highest number of cancellations was in Dhaka 796, followed by Pabna 141, Chattogram 73, Jashore 66, Sylhet 63, and Cox's Bazar 38.A
Police officials said many licence holders have left the country, while others are hiding. Several claimed their weapons were stolen during the uprising.
Sources confirmed that AL leaders, including Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Nizam Uddin Hazari, Shamim Osman, Kamal Ahmed Mojumder, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, and Gazi Golam Dastagir, failed to deposit their arms within the deadline.
SECURITY THREAT
Experts warn that the large number of missing firearms poses serious risks ahead of the polls. This raises fears of violence, political intimidation, and crime.
Tawhidul Haque, associate professor at Dhaka University's Institute of Social Welfare and Research, said, "The reward initiative is a good idea, but it may not be effective now since a year has passed. These firearms were looted by criminals and used or rented out for crimes. They may have been kept in stock to create instability before the election."
Police say their challenge is twofold -- recovering looted arms and cracking down on illegal possession of once-licenced weapons.
"The unrecovered arms and illegally keeping licenced ones is a major security concern. Unless there is strong cooperation from the public, recovery will remain slow," said a senior officer, wishing not to be named.
Asked if the missing weapons pose a threat ahead of polls, Additional IG Rafiqul Islam said, "Illegal arms are already available in the black market. But carrying high-powered, long-barrelled firearms openly is not so easy. So, I don't think the missing weapons create any new kind of fear."
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