Police have recovered 15 rounds of live ammunition for a Chinese rifle along with several locally made weapons from a sack hidden beneath a large banyan tree in a remote village of Faridpur upazila in Pabna.
The weapons and ammunition were recovered on Sunday night (27 September) from Kuchlia village in Hadal Union. Police said the discovery followed intelligence information about the activities of armed groups in the remote, wetland-dominated areas of the union.
Faridpur police recovered the items at around 11.30pm during an operation in the area. The recovery was disclosed by Faridpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Manzurul Hasan Masud at a press briefing on Monday (28 September).
According to the OC, police had received information about the activities of an armed group described as being associated with the Sarbahara and Naxalite movements in the remote parts of Hadal. Allegations had also been made that armed groups were involved in attempts to establish control over the area, exchanges of gunfire and various criminal activities.
Acting on the intelligence, police conducted a search operation in the area. During the operation, officers found a sack concealed beneath a large banyan tree. A search of the sack led to the recovery of 15 rounds of live Chinese-rifle ammunition, a machete, a weapon component described as a stock, a knife and three sharp-edged agricultural-style blades of different sizes.
The recovery has drawn attention to security concerns in the remote wetland areas of Hadal, where access can be difficult and several waterways and water bodies are spread across the landscape. Police said the presence of armed groups in such areas has contributed to recurring law-and-order concerns.
OC Manzurul Hasan Masud said several armed groups were active in parts of the wetland-dominated area. According to police allegations, members of these groups have used weapons to intimidate local residents and have been involved in attempts to control canals, wetlands and other water bodies, as well as land. Police also linked the groups to allegations of extortion, looting, theft and snatching.
The officer said there had been several incidents of gunfire in the Hadal area in the past. The area has also witnessed multiple cases involving allegations of murder and enforced disappearance, he said. Several cases, including those filed under arms and murder laws, are pending at Faridpur Police Station in connection with incidents in the area.
Police said the latest recovery forms part of ongoing efforts to maintain law and order in the remote parts of the upazila. The authorities are continuing surveillance and operations in areas where information about armed activity has been received.
As part of those efforts, police have also stopped a boat race in the area, according to the OC. The decision was taken amid concerns over the prevailing law-and-order situation.
The recovered ammunition and weapons have been taken into police custody, while further legal procedures are expected to follow. The investigation will also seek to establish who placed the sack beneath the tree and whether the recovered items were connected to any previous criminal activity.
Sub-Inspectors Ariful Islam and Ashraful Islam, along with other police personnel, were present at Monday’s briefing.
