Md Joynal Abedin Khan with Mohammad Zonaid :
A total 102 drug dealers surrendered with 33 firearms and 3.5 lakh Yaba pills to Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in a ceremony titled “Surrendering program of drug traders for returning to normal life” at Teknaf Pilot High School premises in Cox’s Bazar on Saturday.
Law enforcers have fixed the condition for the dealers to leave the drug trading forever.
Two new cases were filed against the surrendered men with Teknaf Police Station on charge of keeping Yaba pills and fire arms illegally, reports our Cox’s Bazar Corresponded quoting ABM Masud Hossain, Superintendent of Police (SP) of the district.
They were sent to jail on Saturday afternoon following an order of Delwar Hossain, Senior Judicial Magistrate of Cox’s Bazar court, the police official said.
However, he said that the drug dealers who surrendered on Saturday would have to legally tackle the past cases against them on their own.
Those who surrendered included Bodi’s brothers Abdul Shukkur, Abdul Amin, Mohammad Shafiq and Mohammad Foysal, Badi’s cousin Kamrul Islam Rasel and nephew Shahedur Rahman Nipun.
Teknaf upazila parishad’s chairman Zafar Ahmed’s son Didar Mia, Hilar union parishad members Nurul Huda and Zamal Hossain, Teknaf municipality councilor Nurul Bashar Nurshad, woman councilor Kohinur Begum’s husband Shah Alam, Teknaf sadar UP member Enamul Haque and upazila BNP general secretary’s two brothers Ziaur Rahman and Abdur Rahman, among others, surrendered. Each of them was implicated in lawsuits up to 16.
“The administration would provide them with necessary assistance so that they do not face any legal hurdle in these cases. The authorities would try to complete all process in a short time. But there is no scope of general amnesty for them and the law will take its own course, ” the SP said.
In the meantime, locals have expressed a mixed reaction by observing the surrender of four brothers and 12 relatives of Awami League’s former Member of Parliament (MP) Abdur Rahman Badi, the number one person in the list prepared by the Home Ministry, local sources said.
However, Abdur Rahman Badi himself refrained from surrendering. Saiful Karim, the second man in the list, is reportedly staying abroad. Badi’s wife Shahin Akhter is now an MP of the ruling party.
According to cops officials, names of 26 traders including Badi as the key patron, his five brothers and one sister were listed both by the home ministry and the Narcotics Control Department.
Even the locals also expressed surprise as 24 traders only out of 73 top listed men were surrendered to law enforcers on Saturday, according to the police.
Of the rest 49, six have already been killed since a drive that began May last year. Others numbering 43 traders are yet to surrender.
Around 300 people were killed in what the law enforcement called ‘crossfire’ or ‘gunfights’ across the country since the crackdown against drugs began on 4 May last year. Among them, 44 were killed in Cox’s Bazar alone.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was present at the ceremony as the chief guest, along with all four lawmakers of the coastal district.
“Following the zero tolerance policy taken by the government against narcotics trade in May last year, around 1,441 drug-related cases have been filed with police stations in Cox’s Bazar, and around 1,583 suspects were arrested so far.”
Cox Bazar Awami League President Advocate Sirajul Islam Mostafa said, “The number of people surrendering to the law is not important, we want visible progress in curbing drug-related offences.”
Sounding a note of warning, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Javed Patwary said, “If the Home Ministry does not give them (narcotics traders) any further chance of surrender, they will have to face dire consequences. More surrendering ceremonies such as this will be held in the future.”
Echoing the same opinion, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Chittagong Khandaker Golam Faruq said, “About 109 drug peddlers were killed during gunfights with law enforcers across Chittagong range in the last year.
Cox’s Bazar-4 constituency lawmaker Shahin Akhter, wife of former Awami League MP Abdur Rahman Bodi, said: “Around 70 kilometres of border in the Cox’s Bazar remains unprotected, urging the government to secure it.
“I am also calling upon the authorities concerned to allow around 10,000 local fishermen to fish during daytime in the region, as anti-drug drives have been disrupted their livelihood.”
Mohammad Siraj, a drug peddler who surrendered, said, “I want to urge my fellow narcotics dealers to leave drug trade, take the opportunity provided by this ceremony and surrender to police.
Addressing the event following his surrender, yaba dealer amed Enamul Haque Enam, alias Enam Member, urged the administration to form ward base local committee in collaboration with the law enforcement agencies to tackle the drug smugglers.
Cox’s Bazar four lawmakers Jafar Alam, Ashekullah Rafiq, Saimum Sarwar Kamol and Shahin Aktar Chowdhury, Deputy Commissioner Md Kamal Hossain, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) district Sector Commander Big Gen Sajedur Rahman, deputy commissioner Md Kamal Hossain, were also present.
