Govt to start drive for arms in southwest

The government will launch a special drive to recover illegal arms in the crime-prone south-western region and some other northern districts of the country ahead of the next month's municipality poll.
The massive drive will cover the outlaw infested Chuadanga, Meherpur, Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Jhenidah, Magura, Pabna and some other adjacent districts, said home ministry officials.
The drive will be conducted to arrest outlaws of different parties and groups to prevent them from influencing the election in favour of any particular candidate.
"We will conduct a massive drive in the south-western region to nab the outlawed party men and recover their arms and ammunition so that they can't influence the upcoming municipality polls," Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder told The Daily Star yesterday.
Different law enforcement and intelligence agencies have already prepared a list in this regard and handed over the list to the government high-ups, said the ministry sources.
The government will provide all out assistance to the election commission to ensure a free and fair election across the country, the secretary added.
The government has information that a good number of outlaws in the south-western region are returning to their localities to work for many candidates in the forthcoming local body election.
They are regrouping under the shelter of their 'political godfathers' ahead of the polls to manipulate it by muscle power, government sources said.
The municipality elections are scheduled for January 12, 13, 17 and 18 next year in 269 municipalities of 310 in seven divisions.