JS body against empowering Ansars to make arrests

The parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry has given suggestions against the proposal to give Ansar battalion the power to arrest offenders and frisk.

However, the parliamentary committee has recommended inclusion of a provision to ‘take measures as per CrPC’ instead of ‘making arrest’ if any crime is committed in front of Ansar members.

As a result, the Ansar members are not getting the authority to arrest or frisk.

The JS body made the recommendation at its meeting in national parliament today, Thursday.

The recommendation of the parliamentary committee is likely to be placed in the parliament session next week.

The recommendations of the parliamentary body regarding any issue are usually followed.

Earlier on Monday, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan  placed ‘Ansar Battalion Bill 2023’ in the parliament. Jaitya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam raised objection on the bill which proposed mandate to arrest, frisk and confiscate.

The issue created much uproar in the police force. Senior police officials held several meetings with the home minister over the issue. The minister later told the journalists that the Ansar would not be given the authority to arrest.

After being placed in the parliament, the bill was sent to the parliamentary committee for vetting within three days.

During today’s meeting of the committee, public security division senior secretary Md Mostafizur Rahman, inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Bangladesh Ansar and VPD director general AKM Aminul Haque were present.

Sources present said the meeting recommended amending some issues including sections 7 and 8 in the proposed bill.

Section-8 of the Ansar Battalion Bill-2023 stipulates that an Ansar battalion member shall, if an offence is committed in front of him/her while performing duties, arrest the offender, with the approval of the superior officer concerned, and immediately hand him/her over to the police and, as the case may be, as per the directives of the judicial magistrate or the executive magistrate or the official concerned, will frisk the detainee; and enter any place, conduct a search and seize goods.

The parliamentary committee recommended the section should be amended as such, ‘…if an offence is committee in front of any Ansar member, she/he would take measure as per Code of Criminal Procedure.’

Sources said proposal of this amendment came from the police.

Parliamentary committee president Benazir Ahmed told newsmen following the meeting that decisions have been taken unanimously.

The committee also recommended provision of ‘death penalty’ to be omitted as the the proposed bill contained the provision on the death penalty/lifetime jail for rebellion in the force.

Presided over by Benazir Ahmed, the meeting was attended, among others by home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Md Habibur Rahman, Samsul Alam, Pir Fazlur Rahman, Nur Muhammad, Sultan Muhammad Monsur Ahmed, Samil Uddin Ahmed and Rumana Ali.