Over the last 15 years, during the tenure of the Awami League (AL) government, a total of 17,264 firearm licenses were issued.

Many of these firearms were seen used by AL party leaders against students and unarmed people during the anti-discrimination movement in July and August.

A senior official from the Police Headquarters (PHQ) told the Daily Star last night.

After the formation of the caretaker government on August 8, following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, a notification was issued by the Ministry of Interior to suspend firearm permits issued to civilians between January 6 2009 and August 5, 2024, during the transition period. AL diet.

The government then asked civilians to deposit firearms by September 3, but only 13,349 firearms were deposited, according to PHQ sources.

On September 4, the government launched a joint campaign by the armed forces, border guards, coast guards, police, Rab and Ansar to recover the remaining 3,915 firearms.

At the same time, the ministry formed a committee on Monday responsible for returning to civilians the firearms deposited last September.

The committee, chaired by the district magistrate, comprises two members and a member secretary.

The District Commissioner of Police (SP) and a Deputy Director of National Security Intelligence (NSI) will act as members of the committee, while the Additional District Magistrate will be the member secretary, the notification signed by Israt Jahan said, deputy secretary of the committee. Public Security Division of the Ministry of the Interior.

Based on a notification from the Public Security Division of the Ministry of the Interior dated August 25, the commission will verify and rule on requests for the return of firearms acquired for personal security that have been submitted to the police stations before September 3, the notification reads.

However, firearms issued for special purposes that may aggravate the law and order situation will not be considered for return, it added.

Additionally, people with pending criminal charges or those already convicted of criminal offenses will also not be able to get their firearms back, he also said.

The district committee will submit a report to the ministry on the decision taken regarding the return of firearms, he said.

Md Amirul Kyser, deputy commissioner and district magistrate of Cumilla, said yesterday: “We are yet to receive the order from the ministry. We will act as per the directives.”

Asked about any requests for gun surrenders, he said, “They haven’t received any requests in the district to date.”

Mohammed Saiful Islam, deputy commissioner and district magistrate of Khulna, said he had received the order from the ministry and was working accordingly.

However, to date, he has not received any request for the return of the firearms.