Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has warned that Jangal Salimpur in Chattogram’s Sitakunda will never again be a den for criminals, and will not be allowed to become one.
He gave the warning while answering reporters’ questions on Sunday during a visit to the rugged hilly area of Jangal Salimpur at around 10:30 a.m. with senior administration officials.
Salahuddin Ahmed said: “A list of the illegal occupiers here has been prepared. But none of Jangal Salimpur’s genuine local residents will be evicted. The government will arrange how to rehabilitate them.”
The home minister said the current government had, in the past month since taking office, given top priority to bringing the country’s law and order situation under control. “The government has a master plan for Jangal Salimpur. The pending matter of relocating the central jail here will be resolved soon and acted on quickly.”
Highlighting the crime situation across the country, the minister said: “Not just Salimpur — a coordinated crackdown will be carried out nationwide to stop extortion, drugs and terrorism. If anyone threatens the ordinary people of Jangal Salimpur with eviction or demands extortion money, file a complaint with the District Commissioner naming them directly. No matter how powerful the criminal, there will be no leniency.”
Accompanying the home minister were Land State Minister Mir Md Helal Uddin, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain, Home Ministry Senior Secretary Manzur Morshed Chowdhury, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Hossain Fakir, the commander of RAB-7, and the Chattogram district commissioner and superintendent of police, among other senior officials. After the visit, the minister left for the Chattogram Circuit House to attend a special review meeting on the law and order situation.
On January 19, RAB Deputy Assistant Director Motaleb Hossain Bhuiyan was killed by criminals’ gunfire during an arms-recovery operation in the area. After that, on March 9, a joint operation by the army, RAB and police took control of the entire area, and a temporary joint camp was set up in Alinagar.
Most recently, in the early hours of May 24, several hundred armed criminals led by the top criminal Yasin attacked the joint forces’ camp with heavy bulldozers, demolishing the camp walls and digging large pits in the internal roads to block the law enforcers. After about two hours of heavy gunfire, the attackers fled deep into the hills. Over the attack, a case was filed at Sitakunda police station on May 26 naming 43 people and against about 300 unidentified criminals.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report