No evil force will be able to create unrest in the country in December, the month of victory, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said. He was answering a journalist’s question after unveiling the foundation plaque for the new headquarters of the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) in Tejgaon in the capital on Thursday morning (October 1).
Asked about fears of unrest around December and law and order, he said: “Why do you keep saying December, December? December is our month of victory. I do not believe any evil force can create unrest here in December.”
Asked whether some members of law enforcement were keeping contact with the previous government and planning sabotage, and whether action was being taken, he said negligence of duty is investigated and appropriate action taken when it comes to notice. “We have noticed negligence of duty by some members of law enforcement. Where it comes before us or emerges in investigation, we are taking appropriate action, legal action and departmental proceedings. We are not stopping at simply withdrawing them; if a criminal offence has been committed, they are being charged with criminal offences,” he said.
Police, BGB, SRB and other forces will carry out joint operations, he said, describing such coordinated work as a regular part of efforts to tackle terrorism, extortion, drugs and other crimes. Various agencies are planning joint operations, including the Ansar battalions, but there is no plan to form a new force, he said.
The home minister said about 3.45 acres, or 11 bighas, of land in Tejgaon has been allocated for the Ansar headquarters, fulfilling a long-held wish for a planned headquarters. The headquarters currently operates from Khilgaon, which lacks space for a force of its size: there are about 20,000 battalion Ansar and about 60,000 embodied Ansar, plus a large trained reserve. Battalion Ansar guard government installations and ministries and face a housing shortage, so the new headquarters will house those on central duty, with more housing planned nearby and in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. Calling it a historic day for the force, he said the government has prioritised improving law and order and expanding the Ansar’s role.
On traffic congestion in the capital, the home minister said coordinated efforts by the city corporations, police and other departments are needed, and instructions have been given to plan construction and utility work so that roads are dug and rebuilt section by section rather than all at once. Various plans have been taken up on the prime minister’s initiative, and automatic AI-based traffic cases have made people start obeying traffic laws, improving discipline on the roads, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report