Police other than the Armed Police will not have lethal weapons and a five-member committee has been formed to restructure RAB, said Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.).
The advisor said this while briefing reporters after the ninth meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Law and Order at the conference room of the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday (May 12, 2025) afternoon.
The advisor said that the government has decided not to provide any more lethal weapons to the police force. However, the weapons will be in the hands of the Armed Police Battalion (APBN). Moreover, a five-member committee has been formed to restructure RAB, headed by Lieutenant General (retd.) Abdul Hafiz, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor on Defense and National Integration Development (rank of Advisor). The committee can co-opt members if necessary.
Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.) said that the Highway Police has been instructed to reduce traffic congestion on the roads around the cattle market during Eid. Instructions have been given to ensure that trucks loaded with cattle do not create traffic congestion on the roads. Instructions have also been given to ensure that passengers can go home without any problems. The advisor said that robbery, extortion and malam party violence occur at the cattle market during Eid. To suppress this strongly, it has been ordered to keep 100 Ansar members at each market. Moreover, the police have been instructed to take strict action against extortionists. In the meeting, the concerned parties were instructed to take necessary measures to pay the salaries and bonuses of garment workers on time before Eid.
In a news briefing, BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui said that on May 7-8, 202 Bangladeshis were pushed in by the BSF at different places, who had gone to India 2-3 years or 15-20 years ago. Later, after a meeting with the advisor, efforts are being made to send them to their respective areas after verification through the police and SB. Among them, 39 Rohingyas have been found. They have been sent back to the camps.
The committee members participated in the meeting chaired by the Home Affairs Advisor.
