Concerns persist over unrecovered looted weapons and fugitive prisoners

A shotgun was found in a fisherman’s net while he was fishing in Singarpur of Araihazar, Narayanganj, on Monday. Police later confirmed through registration records that the firearm was among those looted from Araihazar police station during the July uprising.

The incident has once again highlighted that a portion of the firearms and ammunition looted from police stations and prisons during the uprising remains unrecovered. It has also drawn attention to the fact that hundreds of prisoners who escaped from jails at the time are yet to be arrested.

Senior police officials say looted firearms have ended up in the hands of criminals and are being used in various crimes. There have also been cases of police personnel being involved in the sale of looted weapons. Among the escaped prisoners are several death-row convicts and militants, raising concerns over the country’s overall law and order situation.

According to Police Headquarters data, following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, police stations, outposts, police boxes and other police facilities across the country were attacked, vandalised and set on fire. A total of 5,763 firearms and 652,008 rounds of ammunition were looted.

The looted weapons included rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, pistols, shotguns and gas guns, as well as tear-gas launchers, shells and sprays, sound grenades, colour-smoke grenades, stun grenades and ammunition of various calibres.

A joint operation to recover the looted weapons and ammunition began within a month, on 4 September 2024. As of 5 July this year, 4,445 firearms and 394,869 rounds of ammunition had been recovered. This means 1,318 firearms and 257,139 rounds of ammunition were still unaccounted for as of that date.

Before and after the fall of the Awami League government, unrest broke out in several prisons during the July uprising. According to the Department of Prisons, 2,240 prisoners escaped from different jails during that period.

A total of 94 shotguns and Chinese rifles were also looted from prisons. Of the escaped prisoners, 683 are yet to be arrested. Twenty of the shotguns and Chinese rifles looted from prisons also remain unrecovered.

When asked, Brigadier General Syed Md. Motahar Hossain, Inspector General of Prisons, told Prothom Alo that among the unrecovered prisoners, 69 are considered high-risk, including 60 death-row convicts and nine militants.

He said some of the looted Chinese rifles and shotguns have also not been recovered. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police continue to arrest convicted prisoners from time to time, he said, adding that there is no immediate risk to prison security. However, he believes the overall law and order situation in the country faces a mild security risk.

On 3 March last year, a pistol was recovered from the scene after two people were killed in a lynching in Satkania, Chattogram. Police said the pistol had been looted from Kotwali police station of Chattogram Metropolitan Police.

One of the men killed, Nezam Uddin, had allegedly fired the weapon before the mob attack, injuring four people, including a local shopkeeper.

Police later found that Constable Md Riyad, who was then posted in Chandpur, was involved in the sale of the weapon. Riyad, a resident of Satkania, and five others were arrested from Patenga and Bakalia in Chattogram on 21 March. Police recovered a foreign-made pistol and seven rounds of ammunition from them.

Police said an initial investigation found that the pistol had also been looted from Lohagara police station. Riyad was suspended following his arrest. He and two associates later gave confessional statements before a Chattogram court.

On 19 June that year, police arrested Saidur Rahman Masum alias Red Masum, 28, from the Jelepara-Rani Rashmoni Ghat area of Chattogram. A pistol and four rounds of ammunition were recovered from him.

According to CMP, Masum was the leader of a major criminal gang in the city. The pistol recovered from him had been looted from Pahartali police station. Police said he and his associates had used the weapon in snatching, robbery and other crimes.

Additionally, police have arrested several criminals on charges of committing murders and extorting money using firearms looted from police stations, reports of which have appeared in the media.

Additional Inspector General of Police (Crime and Operations) Khondoker Rafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that police operations to recover looted firearms and ammunition are continuing.

Although progress is slow, some looted police weapons are being recovered from time to time. However, he does not believe this poses a threat of deterioration to the law and order situation.