The government has renewed cash rewards for information leading to the recovery of looted and illegal firearms, nearly a year after a similar scheme was introduced. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad announced the updated rewards on Saturday following a quarterly crime review conference at Rajarbagh Police Auditorium in Dhaka.
Under the new scheme, informants can receive up to Tk.200,000 for leads on heavy weapons, up to Tk.50,000 for pistols, revolvers or shotguns and Tk.10,000 to Tk.20,000 for information on sound grenades, looted tear gas shells and other stolen items. Informants' identities will remain confidential as the minister said.
The move comes as many weapons looted during the unrest surrounding the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024 remain unrecovered. Around 3,500 weapons were reportedly looted after attacks on Gonobhaban, the Parliament complex and various police stations on August 5, 2024. The interim government had earlier offered similar rewards with ranging from Tk.50,000 for pistols to Tk.500,000 for light machine guns but many weapons are still missing.
The new scheme also covers illegal firearms including those with cancelled licences that were never surrendered. Salahuddin said special intelligence units have been formed to intensify recovery operations and cases have already been filed over unsurrendered weapons.
The home minister also set deadlines for police to act against criminals, extortionists and drug dealers also warning that officers showing insufficient progress could face disciplinary action. He added that nationwide operations backed by intelligence support are ongoing to curb illegal weapons, smuggling and extortion.
The conference was chaired by Inspector General of Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir.
