Home ministry bans carrying, displaying firearms till 9 January
According to police's special branch data, there are 50,310 legal firearms in the country
The home ministry has imposed a ban on carrying and displaying firearms till 9 January in a bid to conduct the 12th Jatiya Sangsad polls in a free, fair, and peaceful manner.
The ministry published a gazette notification signed by Israt Jahan, deputy secretary of the ministry, in this regard on Thursday (22 December).
Violations of the order would result in legal actions, according to the notification.
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According to police's special branch data, there are 50,310 legal firearms in the country. Of these, 45,226 weapons are in the hands of individuals and 5,084 are with institutions.
The home ministry is taking a flurry of initiatives ahead of the JS polls slated for 7 January.
In addition to banning carrying firearms, the ministry also prohibited the movement of motorcycles for three days during the national polls.
The ban will be in effect from 12am 5 January to 12am 8 January, reads a circular issued by the Public Security Division of the ministry on Thursday.
According to the circular, on the occasion of the national elections, a ban will also be imposed on the movement of taxicabs, microbuses, pickups, trucks, launches, engine-driven boats (except those operating on specific routes) and other vehicles in the election areas from 12am on 6 January to 12am on 7 January.
The ministry also issued another circular on Thursday, outlining the specific duties of the armed forces during their deployment from 29 December to 10 January to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order during the elections.
According to the circular, the armed forces will be deployed in upazilas or stations as necessary in consultation with the returning officers. They will assist other law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order.
Members of the armed forces will be stationed at nodal points (where different transport links come together) in each district, upazila or metropolitan area and other convenient locations.
The circular also said 15-16 police, Ansar and village police force will be deployed in polling stations in metropolitan areas, outside metropolitan areas and general polling stations in hilly and remote areas while 16-17 law enforcers will be deployed in important polling stations. If necessary, the returning officer has the authority to increase this number.
There are 42,103 polling stations in the 12th JS polls.
