Bangladesh police launch weapons sweep to recover looted arms
3 Min Read
Over 2,000 weapons remain missing since the riots, including rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, as well as hundreds of tear gas canisters and stun grenades.
-
Police set up a roadblock near the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's central office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 8, 2022. (AFP)
Bangladesh security forces conducted an operation to recover thousands of weapons looted during the recent nationwide student-led anti-quota protests that led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, police said on Wednesday.
In an attempt to maintain order during the violent demonstrations, Hasina ordered police to "shoot-on-sight," and protesters responded by storming police stations and looting weapons.
Over 3,700 various types of weapons were recovered during a gun amnesty that concluded on Tuesday. However, more than 2,000 weapons remain missing, including rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, as well as hundreds of tear gas canisters and stun grenades.
"Those arms which have not been submitted to the police stations within the deadline... the looted arms will be considered illegal," Enamul Haque Sagor a senior police official, told AFP.
The operation was conducted by the army and police, alongside other security units, such as the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Ansar forces.
Two former police officers arrested
Over 600 people were killed during the nationwide protests, mainly by police fire, which the United Nations rights team speculates as "likely an underestimate."
Two former police officers were arrested and placed on remand for their connection to the demonstrations' violent suppression, Dhaka deputy police commissioner Obaidur Rahman announced.
Although the men have not been formally charged, they are facing murder accusations.
According to a statement released by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Tuesday, one of the detainees is former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Ma'mun who quit one day after Hasina fled the country.
Rahman reported that Al Mamum had been placed on remand for eight days on Wednesday.
The former security official had "expressed his willingness to surrender -- due to a case against him -- while he was under army custody," according to police.
Rahman announced that the second detainee was AKM Shahidul Haque, who was the police chief between 2014 and 2018. He was arrested on Tuesday and is currently on a seven-day remand.
Two new murder cases filed against former Bangladesh PM
The violence imposed on demonstrators by Hasina and her government was not left without consequence.
Two new murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh's ousted prime minister and her former cabinet for killing three people during July's violent student-led anti-quota demonstrations, according to media reports.
The cases were filed in Dhaka courts on Friday, bringing the total number of legal cases against Hasina to 84.
The 76-year-old leader is facing 70 murder charges, eight cases of alleged crimes against humanity and genocide, three charges for alleged abduction, and three other charges, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
