Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday (October 25) said Ansar battalion members were never empowered to make arrests.

He told reporters after the meeting of the law and order committee on the occasion of the upcoming Victory Day in the meeting room of the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Secretariat in capital.

The minister said in response to a question from reporters regarding power Ansar forces to arrest, “You are asking question out of a misconception. Ansar forces were never allowed to make arrests. That power will not be granted. By existing law, we do not have the authority to do so.”

There are reports in various newspapers and media that Ansar forces is taking the power of police, these are propaganda, he added.

He also emphasised that all law-and-order forces must operate within the boundaries of the Criminal Code of Procedure.

BDST: 1650 HRS, OCT 25, 2023
MSK