Combating militancy
New anti-terror unit formed
DEEPAK ACHARJEE
The government has formed a new Anti-Terrorism Unit and armed it with modern arms, ammunition and equipment. The Public Security Division of the home ministry yesterday gave its nod for the unit to start operations.
On August 5, the Secretary Committee on Administrative Improvement Affairs approved the home ministrys proposal to form the new security unit. A notification issued by the Public Security Division said that 31 out of the total 581 posts have been created to start the new unit.
An additional inspector general of police will lead the unit. There will also be a deputy inspector general (DIG), two additional DIGs, five superintendents of police (SPs), 10 additional SPs, 12 assistant SPs, 75 inspectors, 125 sub-inspectors and 140 assistant sub-inspectors.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said they wanted to root out militancy from the country and hoped that the special police unit will be able to do so. We will provide the required arms and equipment to the unit so that they can operate smoothly, he added.
He said that instead of the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the new unit will carry out anti-militancy raids from now on.
Some special police units, such as police commandos, the special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team, the bomb disposal unit and the dog squad, will be put under the specialised unit. The unit will also have a research wing to conduct studies on militancy and other heinous crimes.
At present, the CTTC conducts anti-militancy drives and tackles terror financing, cybercrime, and mobile-banking-related crimes. In fact, following the rise in the number of militant attacks, different law-enforcing agencies have carried out anti-militancy drives.
Law enforcers have killed over 60 armed militants in different operations across the country since the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhakas Gulshan area on July 1 last year.
