Staff Correspondent:

Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Monday announced rewards for information leading to the recovery of firearms looted in July and August, with the highest amount of Tk 5 lakh for the recovery of a Light Machine Gun (LMG).

Anyone providing information leading to the recovery of a Sub-Machine Gun (SMG) will get Tk 1.5 lakh, Tk 1 lakh for a Chinese rifle, Tk 50,000 for a pistol or shotgun, and Tk 500 for each bullet, he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.

He added that the identity of the informants will be kept strictly confidential.

The adviser also said the government has taken measures to prevent recruitment-related corruption in the law enforcement agencies.

“In the past, there were allegations of trade in transfers and recruitment. We have taken steps to stop such practices. If anyone provides proof of corruption in recruitment, they will also be rewarded, though we have not fixed an amount for it,” Jahangir said.

He urged people to come forward with information if they find anyone from the administration or their acquaintances engaged in extortion or corruption.

More than 1,300 firearms and over 2,50,000 rounds of ammunition looted from police stations during the July uprising remain missing, with many reportedly now in the hands of criminals and being used in crimes across the country.

The Awami League government was overthrown in a student-led uprising on August 5 last year, following which 5,753 firearms and 6,51,609 rounds of ammunition were looted from various police stations and outposts, according to police headquarters.

Among the unrecovered weapons are rifles, SMGs, LMGs, 7.62x25mm pistols, 9x19mm pistols, shotguns, gas guns, teargas launchers, and 26mm signal pistols.