UNO of Faridpur’s Bhanga fires shotgun, causing panic among locals
The Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Bhanga upazila in Faridpur stirred panic among locals after firing some blank shots on Sunday night on the premises of his residence.
Confirming the incident, UNO Rakibur Rahman Khan said that he had bought the shotgun from Dhaka two days before, but the shop did not have any facilities to test it.
That's why he fired four shots to test it around 10:00pm on Sunday night.
UNO Rakibur claimed he did not do anything outside of the law.
"I bought a new shotgun. I can shoot five bullets to test it. For this reason, I shot four bullets into the pond. The home ministry regulations allow blank fires to test a gun after purchase. I have not done anything outside of the law."
Sajjad Hossain, joint secretary of Faridpur Rifles Club, however, said "a gun must be tested at the shop at the time of purchase. All gun shops must have specific places for testing the firearms."
"When buying the gun, the hammer, firing pin, magazine, the system of loading and unloading the gun, all must be checked at the shop. There is no provision to test the gun outside. If anyone does it, it would be unlawful," he added.
According to the Section 29 (B) of the firearms licence and use policy in 2016, bullets can be used for test firing at the time of purchase and repair of a firearm, for self-defense and for target practice. One can use maximum 5 bullets for test firing during purchase.
The test firing can be carried out when purchasing a new gun and the agency selling the gun will have to provide a certificate in this regard according to the home ministry rules.
The rule also says test firing must be carried out in the shop.
Hearing the sound of the four gunshots from the UNO's official residence, Showkat Hossain, a sub-inspector of Bhanga Police Station, rushed to the spot, he told The Daily Star.
However, the SI could not meet or talk to the UNO in this regard and came to know of what happened from Aminur Rahman, an armed Ansar personnel who was in-charge of security at the UNO's residence, he also said.
SI Shawkat Hossain added that he had filed a general diary (GD) with the police station in this connection.
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