Tensions escalate as a surge of illegal arms fuels pre-election unease

A video from Molla Kandi in Munshiganj Sadar shows at least 28 masked and helmeted men marching down a road shortly after BNP activist Arif Meer was shot dead on Monday. Eight were visibly armed, with one firing a shotgun at a target as others carrying crude bombs and sharp weapons moved alongside him.

Another recent clip from Bilashpur in Zajira, Shariatpur, shows three men with plastic buckets, two of whom repeatedly hurled crude bombs at a target.

These two incidents are among hundreds of armed attacks recorded across the country over the past 14 months, underscoring growing alarm over the spread of illegal weapons.

Intelligence and law enforcement officials told the Daily Sun that politically backed groups, professional criminals and armed networks in the Chattogram Hill Tracts are stockpiling weapons ahead of the 13th national election scheduled for February.

Most of the weapons are believed to be smuggled from neighbouring countries through multiple border points, including Teknaf and Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar; Chougachha, Jhikargachha, Sharsha, Darsana, Shahzadpur, Hizla, Andulia and Mandartala in Jashore; and Goga, Kayba, Shikarpur, Daulatpur and Hili in Dinajpur.

Sources say the stockpiles include submachine guns, rifles, pistols and shotguns.

Detective Branch officials warn that these smuggled and unrecovered arms—along with weapons looted from police facilities and even the supposedly secure Strong Room at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport—pose a grave threat to public safety.

Illegal arms cases on the rise
Police Headquarters data show 1,506 firearms cases were filed between January and October this year, up from 1,124 in the same period of 2024. A police officer said the figures clearly indicate increased use and recovery of illegal arms.

A Dhaka Metropolitan Police official added that at least 200 crude bombs were detonated across the capital in the past three months alone.

A Human Rights Support Society report notes that 170 people were killed and 8,563 injured in 1,111 political clashes between September 2024 and October 2025, with 235 suffering gunshot wounds.

Seven people, including notorious criminal Tarik Saif Mamun, were shot dead in separate incidents recently in Dhaka, Chattogram and Narsingdi.

On 26 October, Bangladesh Army personnel recovered eight pistols, 16 magazines, 26 bullets, 2.39kg of gunpowder and 2.23kg of plastic explosives from a train at Dhaka’s Airport Railway Station. A senior army officer later voiced concern over the ongoing influx of arms and explosives.

Police records indicate that of 5,763 looted firearms, 4,421 have been recovered, leaving 1,342 guns and 257,287 rounds of ammunition still unaccounted for.

Missing weapons from airport vault
After the massive fire at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on 18 October, the Strong Room—where arms were reportedly stored—was discovered unlocked days later.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines MD and CEO Dr Md Shafiqur Rahman confirmed that the vault’s lock was found broken on 28 October.

Airport Police recovered 67 pistols, 12 shotguns, one rifle and 991 blank cartridges from the room, but it remains unknown how many weapons and rounds were originally stored there.

Md Tayeafuzzaman, CEO of Gun Max, said 16 imported pistols, 20–25 rifles, 20,000 pistol rounds and 300,000 sporting rifle bullets—worth about Tk3.9 crore—were missing.

An employee of Emran Arms and Company said many of their imported arms and ammunition had also disappeared, adding that customs officials had instructed them not to comment publicly. “If no progress is made, we will disclose details of our missing stock,” he warned.

Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told reporters Tuesday that the government would intensify efforts to recover illegal and stolen weapons. “A probe team is investigating the airport theft, and we expect clarity once their report is submitted,” he said.