The home minister, Sahara Khatun, on Thursday told the parliament 2,279 people were killed in eight months with the highest number of 360 killings under the Khulna police range. Sahara said 201 killings had taken place in the Dhaka metropolitan area. She, however, claimed it was not true that law and order had deteriorated.

In reply to a question of BNP lawmaker Lutfur Rahman, she said 45 people had been killed by India’s Border Security Force after the assumption of office by the Awami League-led government on January 6. But, she said, the government has not given any compensation to any of the families of the victims, but the government is considering the matter.

The home minister, during the question-answer session in the parliament with the deputy speaker, Shawkat Ali, in the chair, said 873 cases were filed in connection with 2,279 killings and 864 people were arrested. In reply to a question of BNP lawmaker Ashraf Uddin Nizan, she said law and order had not deteriorated.

She said law enforcers were conducting a special two-month drive against extremists in the south-west. She also said all the authorities concerned had been asked to keep law and order on the occasion of Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr and Durga Puja. In reply to a question of ruling Awami League lawmaker Tajul Islam, the home minister said the government, after its assumption of office, arrested 113 religious extremists, who include two foreigners. She said 51 of them belonged to Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, 37 to Hizb-ut Tahrir, 23 to Hizbullah and two to foreign extremist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Sahara, replying to a supplementary question of ruling party lawmaker Illias Mollah abut extortion over telephone, said the home ministry had held several meetings with the Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited on ways to curb such extortion. She said the Awami League-led government was determined to stop disruption in tender process by political party activists, extortion and crimes. The government is also taking steps so that the police can act in a neutral, professional manner.

Sahara, in replying to a question of Mahzabin Morshed, told the house the home ministry was preparing an anti-terrorism strategic paper and had taken effective measures in this regard under the Anti-Terrorism Ordinance 2008. In reply to a question of ruling party lawmaker Sheikh Afil Uddin, she said the government had plans to network all the police stations with computers and 105 police stations were in the final stages of such computerisation. In reply to a question of Jatiya Party lawmaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, she said the government had decided to withdraw 449 politically motivated cases completely and 16 cases partially. The cases include a case against filed against BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed.

Sahara, in reply to a question of ruling party lawmaker Safiqul Islam, said there was manpower crisis in the police force and the government had decided to increase the manpower to 32,031 in phases by 2011. In reply to another question of Lutfur Rahman, Sahara said 80,699 people were in 67 jails, having the capacity to accommodate 28,420 people. The planning minister, AK Khandker, told the house the government was trying to implement the annual development programme from the first day of its assumption of office.

-New Age