Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) will take necessary action after reviewing the viral video showing State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraque Hossain carrying a firearm during an anti-drug drive in the capital, said Additional Police Commissioner of the Detective Branch (DB) Md Shafiqul Islam on Sunday.
“It is not the right time to comment on the incident before assessing it. The deputy commissioner concerned will review the entire matter and submit a report. If any violation of law is found in the report, the DMP will take legal action,” he said at a press conference at the DMP Media Centre.
Asked whether a minister could perform duties similar to those of police during an operation, the DB chief declined to make any comment.
Earlier, a video of the drive was posted on Ishraque Hossain’s official Facebook page on Saturday afternoon.
The video shows him getting out of a vehicle with a loudspeaker and a pistol and then chasing a group of people during an anti-drug drive near the railway line in the capital’s Gandaria area.
At one point, he was seen pointing the weapon towards some people while shouting, “Hey, stop, stop.”
Another man in plainclothes was also seen chasing people with a weapon in his hand.
In another Facebook post on Saturday evening, Ishraque pledged to continue the drives until Dhaka-6 constituency is made free of drugs.
The state minister and Dhaka-6 MP in a statement on Sunday said he briefly raised his licensed firearm in “self-defence” during an anti-drug drive in the capital’s Gendaria area on Saturday after receiving warnings of possible “security threats”.
Ishraque said he, along with his security personnel, got out of their vehicles and raised the weapon briefly when a group of 30 to 35 people allegedly approached their convoy aggressively near a suspected drug den.
He claimed that law enforcement agencies and his own intelligence sources had warned him of possible security risks, including the possibility of drug traders firing at them from rooftops.
“The weapon was raised for a very short time in self-defence to protect lives and property amid fears of an imminent attack,” the state minister said, adding that it was put away as soon as the potential threat had passed.