The 155 firearms and ammunition looted from the police in Chattogram during the student-led mass uprising last year, leading to the eventual fall of the Awami League government, have yet to be recovered. Multiple senior officials of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) believe that these weapons have spread across the country through criminals.
A reliable source within CMP informed Times of Bangladesh that after the fall of the Awami government on August 5, attacks, vandalism, and arson occurred at 18 police stations, outposts, boxes, and various units in Chattogram. During this time, 948 weapons were looted. Among these, 793 weapons have been recovered, but still 155 remain missing.
CMP Deputy Police Commissioner (Crime) Md Rais Uddin said, “Criminal gangs in the city have illegally acquired weapons through various means for their activities. A Quick Response Team (QRT) and modern surveillance system have been established to recover the weapons. However, there is no specific information about who has the missing weapons or where they are.”
He also stated that maximum efforts are underway to recover all weapons before the upcoming election.
Representatives of civil society and concerned citizens in the city fear that if these weapons are not recovered before the election, the security situation could become untenable.
According to CMP data, among the looted weapons, twelve-bore shotguns comprise most of them, at 414. Additionally, there were 105 China rifles, 62 China SMG-Ts, one China LMG-T, 45 China pistols, 110 9mm pistols, three 9mm SMTs, 203 single-shot gas guns, and five tear gas launchers.
The weapons recovered in continuous operations by law enforcement agencies include 87 China rifles, 359 twelve-bore shotguns, 68 nine-mm pistols, 189 gas guns, 54 SMG-Ts, 29 China pistols, three SMTs, one LMG-T, and three tear gas launchers.
CMP officers expressed concern about the missing weapons, stating that shotguns and pistols are the most dangerous because they can be easily hidden and pose the highest risk of being used in crimes. Criminals could use these weapons for robbery, terrorist attacks, or political violence.
They also suspect that some of the missing weapons are in the hands of local criminal gangs.
Weapons recovered outside Chattogram
CMP officers reported that on August 28, BNP leader Kamal Howlader was arrested with weapons in Mongla, Bagerhat. Eight rounds of ammunition were recovered from him. These bullets were looted from a police station in Chattogram.
Earlier, on March 20, Constable Riyad of Chandpur district police and five others were arrested on charges of involvement in weapon sales. Police stated that Riyad was involved in selling one of the pistols recovered from a crime scene.
Weapons recovered from various criminals in Chattogram
Police confirmed that the cartridges recovered in the shooting deaths of Masud Kaysar and Md Anis in the Kuwaish area on August 29 were from the looted weapons. On July 21, after an exchange of fire between Ismail Hossain and Shahidul Islam’s group in Chandgaon, Chattogram city, law enforcement found shell casings from looted weapons at Shahidul’s hideout in Bahaddarhat.
Previously, CMP stated that the pistol recovered in the group beating that killed two people in Satkania on March 3 was also a looted weapon. Additionally, multiple looted pistols, bullets, and grenades have been recovered in operations in Double Mooring and Patenga areas.
Secretary of SHUJAN-Citizens for Good Governance, Chattogram, Akhter Kabir Chowdhury told Times of Bangladesh, “The police have video footage and evidence. The arrested accused have also provided a significant amount of information. If the weapons are not recovered, the risk to life and property security in the upcoming election will increase.”
Akhter Kabir also believes that to avoid a hazardous situation, it is crucial for the police to run a crash programme to recover not only the weapons looted on August 4 and 5 but any and all illegal weapons that might be in circulation.
