SRB Offers Government Rewards for Information on Weapons

The Special Response Battalion (SRB) has urged people to provide information about looted and illegal weapons scattered across the country, assuring them that their identities will be kept confidential and that they will receive government rewards in accordance with existing rules.

Wing Commander A Z M Entekhab Chowdhury, director of the SRB’s law and media wing, disclosed the information while responding to questions from journalists at the SRB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka, on Friday afternoon.

He said the government and the SRB were conducting special operations to recover looted weapons from different parts of the country. Various types of weapons have already been recovered during operations by the Bangladesh Police, Army and SRB, he added.

“Public cooperation is now necessary to accelerate the recovery process,” he said.

Entekhab Chowdhury said the authorities had received preliminary information about the locations of illegal weapons in different areas, including Khulna, Rajshahi and Chattogram. However, a lack of sufficient information was making it difficult to identify and recover the weapons in many cases.

He urged anyone with information about the whereabouts of such weapons to notify law enforcement agencies.

The SRB official said some people might have taken weapons looted from police stations during incidents without having any ulterior motive. They may have taken the weapons due to the circumstances or in the heat of the moment and may now be unsure what to do with them.

Some may also be reluctant to inform the authorities because they fear possible legal consequences, he said.

“To resolve this issue, we have introduced the initiative to encourage people to provide information,” he added.

“You can leave the weapons at any location and inform us. Even details such as two pistols, one rifle, 10 magazines or ammunition being kept at a particular place would be sufficient for us. We will go there and collect them,” he said.

“The person providing the information will be rewarded by the government, and the matter will be taken into consideration when deciding whether legal action should be taken against them,” he added.

Speaking about the crime situation in Mohammadpur, Entekhab Chowdhury said reducing crime was an ongoing process and that the situation could not be completely changed overnight.

However, he said the SRB was conducting intensive operations in areas with high crime rates.

The number of SRB personnel deployed in crime-prone areas is being increased, while more officers are being assigned to operations. Intelligence activities and cyber surveillance have also been strengthened, he said.

“All possible measures are being taken by the law enforcement agencies,” he added.

Expressing optimism about eliminating crime in Mohammadpur, he urged people to cooperate with the police and other law enforcement agencies.

“Please cooperate with us a little longer. InshaAllah, we will be able to eliminate all crime from Mohammadpur very soon,” he said.