Govt to buy sound grenades, teargas shells for BGB to use at border: Home Adviser

The government has decided to procure sound grenades and teargas shells for the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to use at the border.

Home Adviser Lieutenant General (retired) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury disclosed this at a press conference after a meeting of the advisory council committee on law and order at the Secretariat on Monday.

The home adviser said India’s Border Security Force (BSF) was seen using sound grenades and teargas shells along the Bangladesh-India border in Chapainawabganj recently, but BGB does not possess any sound grenades and teargas shells. They only possess lethal weapons.

In this situation, a decision has been taken to procure sound grenades and teargas shells for the BGB and they will use those when the situation demands, he added.

The home adviser further said the border, however, remains calm now.

Referring to the stay of illegal immigrants in Bangladesh, adviser Jahangir Alam said many foreigners have been living in Bangladesh illegally as their visa expired.

However, the number of illegal immigrants decreased to 33,638 from 49,226 and the government earned Tk 100 million from the application fees to legalise their stay, he added.

Those who helped immigrants stay illegally in the country will face action, Jahangir Alam warned.