The government has decided to set up two army camps at Rangikhali and Noakhali Pahar in Cox’s Bazar to curb kidnappings and other crimes.
It will also build a police academy at Jungle Salimpur in Chattogram. The government has also acquired 72 acres of land in the area to relocate the Chattogram Central Jail.
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Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced the decisions while briefing reporters at his ministry yesterday following two meetings.
The first was the second meeting of the National Committee on Coordination, Management, and Law and Order Related to Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals. The other focused on improving the overall law-and-order situation in Jungle Salimpur.
Salahuddin said, “Following earlier discussions, we have decided to set up two army camps at Rangikhali and Noakhali Pahar, where kidnappings take place regularly. The camps will be built under the leadership of the 10 Infantry Division based in Ramu.”
He said the decision was made, considering that the camps would help curb abductions and other criminal activities in the areas.
Speaking about security in the Rohingya camps, the minister said, “There are drug-related activities inside the camps, and different armed groups enter the camps. We have to monitor these activities. We also have to carry out operations against drugs, weapons, and human trafficking inside and outside the Rohingya camps.”
He added that barbed-wire fences surrounding the Rohingya camps were frequently damaged or destroyed, while CCTV cameras and streetlights also needed regular repairs.
The minister said the damaged facilities would be repaired and security around the camps strengthened. “Closed-circuit cameras and watchtowers will be installed at some distance outside the camps.”
Salahuddin said different security forces regularly conduct operations against drug trafficking, arms-related crimes, and human trafficking inside and outside the Rohingya camps.
He added that arrangements were already in place to deal with any war-like situation or emergency under the leadership of an army brigadier general.
Regarding Jungle Salimpur, the minister said road construction was underway in the area.
The police academy to be built there would be similar to the one in Rajshahi’s Sardah, he said, adding that the government would also decide how to rehabilitate the residents of the area.
“We will run the educational institutions and other institutions located there. We will bring everything under proper management and free the area from being a safe haven for criminals.”
The minister said land had also been allocated to ensure the presence of police, BGB, and SRB, formerly RAB, in the area.
Responding to a reporter’s question about Rohingya repatriation, Salahuddin said, “Rohingya repatriation is possible with the support of the United Nations and the international community.
“A lot of time has passed, and the problem has become much bigger. I hope we will be able to overcome this problem soon.”
Responding to another query, the minister said maintaining public trust remained a major task, as pointed out by the inspector general of police.
“We have earned public trust. The people will judge how much.”
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