The Ansar Battalion Bill, 2023, was placed in parliament on Monday, empowering them to arrest anybody involved in criminal activities.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal placed the afore the national election, and it was sent to the parliamentary standing committee of the ministry for scrutiny.
The committee was asked to submit its report within three working days.
The proposed law keeps the death penalty as the maximum punishment for force members for different crimes, including mutiny.
It also proposed two departmental courts to try the internal crimes of Ansar members. One is ‘Summery Ansar Battalion Court’ headed by an additional director, and another is ‘Special Ansar Battalion Court’ headed by the director general.
Serious crimes like mutiny, instigating revolt, creating ground for rebellion, and engaging in conspiracy will be tried in the Special Ansar Battalion Court.
The maximum punishment for such crimes is the death penalty, according to the proposed law.
As per the bill, in the case of an offence committed against him, a battalion member can arrest the offender with the approval of the superior officer concerned.
In such a case, he must hand over the arrested person immediately to the police.
The battalion member, at the direction of a judicial magistrate, an executive magistrate, or the officer responsible for the purpose, will also be able to search a person, enter and search any place, and seize goods, according to the bill.
‘If the bill is passed like this, the Ansar force will become a parallel force to the police,’ Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam said, opposing the bill.
He pointed out that Ansar was created to assist law and order forces.
According to the seventh and eighth sections of the bill, the Ansar forces can do what the police do, he said.
He asked the home minister to take back the bill and place it before Jatiya Sangsad afresh.
The home minister, in reply, said that during any disaster, Ansar members cooperate with other forces.
He also mentioned that during the elections, the police force was not enough to maintain law and order.
For that purpose, some six lakh Ansar members have been recruited till now.
The minister mentioned that the same number of Ansar forces should be recruited during the national elections.
He said that the government had no plan to create Ansar as a parallel force to the police.
The minister said that if there were any conflicting provisions in the draft bill, it would be amended by the parliamentary committee.
