Staff Correspondent:

The government is reviewing whether to reduce the tenure of life imprisonment, particularly for elderly inmates, Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said on Sunday.

“Under the Penal Code of 1860, life imprisonment in Bangladesh is equivalent to 30 years. We are reviewing whether the duration can be lowered considering age,” he told reporters after a meeting of the Core Committee on Law and Order at the Secretariat on Sunday afternoon.

“For women, it could be reduced to 20 years, while for men, it may be a little higher. The provision will depend on the convict’s age at the time of sentencing,” he added.

The adviser noted that the proposal has not yet been finalised and will come with certain conditions.

Turning to the protests in Faridpur’s Bhanga upazila, where locals blocked the highway demanding changes to parliamentary boundary demarcations, the home adviser said such actions were unacceptable.

“This is an Election Commission’s matter. Locals can raise objections through proper channels, but no one has the right to block roads and cause public suffering. If the blockade is not lifted by today, law enforcement agencies will be compelled to take action,” he said.

The meeting also discussed police training, preparations for the upcoming national elections, prevention of mugging and robbery, measures to curb drug smuggling across the border, security during the upcoming Durga Puja, and recovery of looted arms.