The Ansar Battalion Bill, 2023 was passed in Parliament on Thursday, rejecting the proposal to grant Ansar battalions the authority to detain criminals, search bodies, and seize goods, reports UNB.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan moved the Bill and it was passed by voice vote. The Ansar Battalion Bill, 2023, was placed in Parliament on October 23 where it proposed to empower the Ansar Battalion to detain criminals, search bodies and seize goods.
As per the initially proposed Bill, a battalion member shall, in the case of an offence committed against him, with the approval of the superior officer concerned, detain the offender and immediately hand him over to the police and, as the case may be, on the direction of the Judicial Magistrate or the Executive Magistrate or the officer responsible for the purpose, to search the person, enter and can search any place and seize the goods.
But the proposal witnessed serious opposition from the police department.
There, some amendments were recommended in some cases including clauses 7 and 8 of the Bill.
Section 8 of the Bill proposed to give the Ansar battalions powers of detention and search.
The parliamentary committee has recommended amendments in this section of the Bill. This section states, "Any battalion shall take necessary action under the Criminal Procedure Code in respect of an offence committed in front of a member."
According to committee sources, this proposal came from the police. As per the Section 7 of the Bill, regarding the responsibility of the Ansar Battalion, it was said that the government or any government authority with the approval of the government will carry out the responsibility in any public security work.
