Ctg police recover looted 617 firearms, 56,858 rounds of ammo; deadline to surrender ends today
Today (3 September) was the deadline set by the Police Headquarters to surrender looted firearms and ammunition.
Police have recovered 617 firearms and 56,858 rounds of ammunition that were looted during attacks in various police stations across Chattogram after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on 5 August.
Today (3 September) was the deadline set by the Police Headquarters to surrender looted firearms and ammunition.
According to Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP), among the recovered weapons, only 68 firearms were found to be unusable, while the remaining 549 were severely damaged.
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"As of today, while most of the firearms have been recovered, 198 firearms and 25,394 rounds of ammunition, including deadly weapons like Chinese rifles and SMGs are still in the hands of criminals, posing a grave threat to public safety," CMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (Public Relations) Kazi Mohammad Tareq Aziz told The Business Standard.
"The government will conduct a joint operation, comprising the army, police, BGB and other forces, across the country from tomorrow [4 September] to recover the remaining looted weapons.
"Legal action will be taken against those found in possession of these weapons," he added.
The officer also urged the public to surrender looted firearms to the police, assuring that no criminal case would be filed against them.
RAB-7 Commander Lieutenant Colonel Md Mahbub Alam said, "RAB will be working with the joint forces to recover both illegal and looted firearms, as well as unlicensed firearms."
A total of 815 firearms and 82,252 rounds of ammunition were looted across eight police stations in the district since 5 August.
The looted arsenal included 105 Chinese rifles (7.62 mm), 62 submachine guns (SMGs), 1 light machine gun (LMG), 45 pistols (7.62 mm), 95 Tarash pistols (9 mm), 15 C-Z pistols (9 mm), one 9 mm Pietro Beretta pistol (kept as evidence), 414 shotguns (12 bore), and 76 gas guns (38 mm).
The looted ammunition consisted of 37,654 rounds of rifle, SMG, and LMG bullets; 1,470 rounds of 7.62 mm pistol bullets; 5,200 rounds of 9 mm pistol bullets; 20,500 rubber ball cartridges; 15,000 lead ball cartridges; 1,800 tear gas shells; 200 tear gas hand grenades; 250 sound grenades; 13 stun grenades; 60 multi-impact grenades; and 100 multiple-output noise grenades.
According to media reports, separate cases have been filed against approximately 1.5 lakh individuals in connection with the attacks on eight police stations—Kotwali, Sadarghat, Double Mooring, Pahartali, Akbarshah, EPZ, Patenga, and Halishahar—between 22 August and 27 August.
