Home minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday informed Jatiya Sangsad that 464 murder cases and 666 rape cases had been filed across Bangladesh since February 17 when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government assumed office.
Responding to a question from opposition lawmaker Abul Hasnat, the minister said that law enforcement agencies had arrested 604 suspects in connection with murder cases and 530 suspects in rape cases.
Among them, 11 accused in murder cases and 71 in rape cases had been released on bail.
The minister said that investigations into serious crimes, including murders and rapes, were being conducted with the highest priority to ensure that those responsible received rigorous punishment.
He also said that authorities were working to collect evidence and submit charge sheets as quickly as possible.
In response to another question from lawmaker Md Mujibur Rahman, the home minister described land grabbing, extortion and other illegal activities as serious crimes harming both society and the state.
He alleged that during the over 15-year regime of Awami League, groups aligned with it were involved in land grabbing, controlling water bodies and sand quarries, extortion, tender manipulation and other unlawful activities, causing widespread public suffering.
The minister stated that the current government adopted a zero-tolerance policy against such crimes.
As a result, many individuals involved in land grabbing, extortion and illegal activities had been arrested and brought to justice, leading to a noticeable decline in such offences.
Replying to a question from lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury, the minister said that the investigation report of the commission on enforced disappearances had been preserved at the National Human Rights Commission.
The home minister further said that legal and other forms of assistance were being provided to the victims of enforced disappearance and affected families.
Answering a question from lawmaker Jahandar Ali Mia, the minister said that the Bangladesh Police currently had 2,18,554 approved posts, of which 2,07,745 were police posts, 8,047 non-police posts, and 2,762 were outsourced non-police posts.
He also said that the process was under way for creating approximately 14,500 new posts of which 500 posts were for assistant superintendent of police, 4,000 for sub-inspector (unarmed), and the rest 10,000 posts were for constable.
Recruitment has already begun to fill 2,703 vacant constable posts along with 2,000 vacant assistant sub-inspector posts, the minister said, adding that recruitment in these posts would be done directly,.
In response to another question from BNP lawmaker Mohammad Shamim Qaiser, the home minister said that the government was firmly committed to maintaining law and order and ensuring public safety.
The Bangladesh Police had already undertaken various plans and measures which he said had helped keep the law and order under control.
