Recover looted weapons before polls: Yunus

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus yesterday directed authorities to recover weapons looted from the police before the upcoming national elections, stressing that the arms must be retrieved as quickly as possible by any means.

He gave the instruction while presiding over a meeting of the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reorganisation (NICAR) at the state guest house Jamuna.

After the meeting, Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed journalists at the Foreign Service Academy.

Quoting the chief adviser, Shafiqul said, “The looted weapons must be recovered as soon as possible before the election, no matter what it takes.”

At its first NICAR meeting, the interim government approved 11 proposals, including the creation of four new police stations.

According to a press wing statement from the chief adviser, the government approved the creation of two administrative units under the finance ministry -- the Revenue Policy Division and the Revenue Management Division -- to make revenue collection more transparent, accountable and efficient.

The meeting also approved merging the Health Services Division and the Health Education and Family Welfare Division into a single Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Satkhira district was upgraded from a “B” category district to an “A” category district due to its environmental heritage, tourism and economic potential, the press secretary said.

Approval was also given to create four new police stations by splitting existing areas: Purbachal North in Gazipur district, Purbachal South in Narayanganj district, Matarbari in Cox’s Bazar district, and Raypur in Narsingdi district.

At the press briefing, Shafiqul said the Dhaka Metropolitan Police currently operates a large force with 50 police stations.

He said yesterday’s meeting discussed whether the DMP could be divided into separate units such as “DMP North” and “DMP South,” but no final decision was taken.