363 foreigners detained in BD prisons
Home minister tells JS
FE REPORT | Thursday, 13 June 2024
A total of 363 foreigners are imprisoned or detained in different jails of Bangladesh for committing various crimes, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the House on Tuesday.
Responding to a question of lawmaker Farida Yasmin, the home minister said of the detained foreigners, 212 are Indians, 114 are from Myanmar, seven are from Pakistan and four are Chinese nationals.
Besides, six Malaysians, six Nigerians, and four Belarusians are also in prisons here.
Responding to a question of lawmaker Mahbubur Rahman of Chottogram-1 constituency, the lawmaker said 994 Rohingyas have been arrested for their alleged involvement in criminal activities since August 2017 to May 2024.
The home minister said that the law enforcing agencies identified several groups who were engaged in criminal activities in the Rohingya camps and later they were brought to book.
He said that the intelligence agencies are engaged in surveillance activities in spotting criminal elements in the camp to ensure public safety.
Responding to another question, he said that in the last three terms 87,533 posts were created in the Bangladesh Police and those were filled through a transparent recruitment process.
He said that law enforcing agencies are now using different digital methods in preventing crime.
For example, he said, e-Traffic prosecution system and online GD application services were introduced and connectivity was provided to remote police posts through satellite.
The minister said that modern equipment was provided to the police force. Previously they were using 303 rifles, but now they are provided with 7.62 mm rifles.
For operational activities and to ensure law and order the police force is provided with several gas kits like gas shell (long range), 38 mm tear gas shell (shot range), 38 mm tear gas shell, tear gas hand grenade, color smoke grenade, sound grenade and multi impact tear gas grenade, the home minister told the House.
Besides, for their own safety, the police force was provided with bulletproof vest (Level-4), bullet-proof vest (Level-3A), full protection jacket (Level-3A), anti-explosive blanket, VIP protection vest (Level-3A), bulletproof vest with life jacket, ballistic blanket, bomb disposal suit, and ballistic suitcase, the minister added.