Illegal firearms are increasingly surfacing in killings, political clashes, drug disputes and battles for territorial control across Bangladesh, while 1,311 weapons looted from police facilities remain unrecovered more than two years after the August 2024 unrest.
Police records show at least 123 shooting incidents across the country in the first seven months of this year, leaving more than fifty killed in shootings.
The proliferation of firearms has become a growing public-safety concern as weapons are increasingly displayed or used in political confrontations and criminal disputes.
The scale of the problem was visible again on Tuesday when two youths were seen brandishing firearms during clashes between rival groups in Sitakunda, Chittagong, during BNP’s founding anniversary.
On the same day, police uncovered an illegal arms-manufacturing facility operating behind the facade of a CNG autorickshaw repair workshop in Hathazari.
In Dhaka, three people were recently injured in indiscriminate firing during a clash in Gandaria’s Swamibagh Munsirtek area over control of the drug trade and the arrest of alleged dealers.
The incidents come amid a series of firearm-related killings.
On June 12, police-listed criminal Yachin Khan Palash alias Kailya Palash was shot in Rampura, Dhaka, and died at Evercare Hospital a week later.
On the same day, BNP leader Rafiqul Islam was shot dead in Khulna.
Earlier, Naeem Ahmed alias Titon, another listed criminal, was shot dead in Dhaka’s Newmarket area on April 28.
1,311 police weapons still missing
Adding to concerns is the continued circulation of firearms looted from police stations and other law enforcement facilities during the upheaval of August 2024.
Police data show 1,311 looted weapons remain unrecovered, including 109 Chinese rifles and 30 submachine guns.
Some 257,125 rounds of ammunition are also still missing.
Law enforcement sources say criminal groups possess other modern illegal firearms in addition to the looted weapons.
Investigators believe many recent attacks stem from territorial control, political and intra-party disputes, extortion and criminal rivalry.
Police sources also say some listed criminals released on bail have returned to extortion, land grabbing and violent competition for influence.
The wider murder figures underline the pressure on law enforcement.
Police Headquarters recorded 934 murder cases between May and July, an average of more than 300 a month, or over 10 a day.
Since a nationwide special operation began in May, police have arrested 18,328 people, including 331 allegedly found with illegal firearms.
Political violence adds to toll
Political confrontation is another source of deadly violence.
According to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), around 400 political clashes occurred between January and July, leaving 77 people dead. Of them, 40 were killed in attacks and shootings by assailants.
Khulna has emerged as a particular concern. Police and local sources said at least 21 people were killed and more than 50 injured in shootings across the district between January and March.
Law enforcement agencies attribute many of the incidents to drug trafficking, territorial disputes, political rivalry and armed criminal groups.
Intelligence sources say six to seven gangs are active in Khulna city and surrounding upazilas.
Chittagong has also seen repeated gun violence.
An analysis of 35 high-profile murders found that 22 victims were shot dead.
‘Illegal arms market has grown’
Dr Touhidul Haque, associate professor at Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research, said recent incidents indicate that both the availability and use of illegal firearms have increased.
He pointed to public displays of weapons, arms recoveries in Chittagong, repeated killings and the deaths of listed criminals as signs of an expanding illicit firearms market.
“At this moment, terrorist groups are keeping arms to carry out their misdeeds,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
He said authorities must strengthen surveillance along arms-smuggling routes while accelerating the recovery of weapons looted in 2024.
The continued presence of those weapons outside state control, he said, was fuelling public anxiety.
Weapons entering through borders
Law enforcement sources say firearms are also being smuggled through dozens of points along the Bangladesh-India and Bangladesh-Myanmar borders.
BGB, police and RAB sources identified at least 30 suspected routes stretching from Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Jhenaidah, Jashore and Satkhira to Sylhet, Sunamganj, Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar.
The networks allegedly involve border smugglers, unscrupulous licensed arms traders, criminal groups, Rohingya gangs, juvenile gangs and underworld figures.
In one case, police arrested a man in Chapainawabganj with a foreign-made pistol, five bullets and two magazines.
Investigators said the weapons had entered from India through the border.
Special unit formed
The government has now formed a special unit to recover looted and illegal firearms.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said operations were underway nationwide with assistance from intelligence agencies.
The government has also announced financial rewards for information leading to recoveries, up to Tk2 lakh for heavy weapons and up to Tk50,000 for pistols, revolvers and shotguns.
Additional IGP for Crime and Operations Khandaker Rafiqul Islam said police special operations would continue while intelligence agencies, RAB and border forces coordinate efforts to disrupt illegal weapons networks.
But with more than a thousand looted police firearms still missing and shootings continuing across the country, experts warn that recovering the weapons before they feed further violence has become an increasingly urgent law-and-order challenge.