The Comilla district administration may have overlooked or ‘relaxed’ rules to issue Bangladesh’s Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan two arms licences this year, inquiries by Northeast News reveal.
While one licence was issued for a pistol, the second was for a shotgun, Comilla district administration officials said, adding that the two documents were handed over to the applicant (Asif Mahmud) this year.
A scanning machine at the ninth boarding bridge for identification and security (INS) detected a prohibited bore ammunition magazine – earlier erroneously identified as an AK-47 rifle magazine – inside Asif Mahmud’s carry-on handbag moments before he boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 29.
Asif Mahmud took charge as an adviser (Youth and Sports) in Mohammad Yunus’ interim government on August 9, 2024. This makes him ineligible to apply for a gun licence since he does not satisfy the condition that he paid tax for three consecutive tax-filing years. There is no information on his known sources of income before he was appointed an adviser.
Besides, Bangladeshi law clearly states that arms licences (for specific weapons such as pistols/revolvers/rifles) are issued to private persons when applicants are able to produce genuine documents certifying their age to be between 30 and 70 years. Asif Mahmud is 27 years old (born July 14, 1998).
In 2016, the then Bangladesh government allowed ten categories of people – parliament speaker, deputy speaker, ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers, those equivalent to the rank of ministers, MPs, mayors, judges, gazetted freedom fighters etc – to get arms licences.
However, the age restriction would still apply in Asif Mahmud’s case.
Asif Mahmud, whose father is Mohammad Billal Hossain, hails from a village under Akabpur police station in Muradnagar sub-district of Comilla district. Asif Mahmud recently enrolled himself in an MA programme at Dhaka’s North South University.
Bangladesh government notifications issued last year, after the Mohammad Yunus-led interim regime took charge, made it mandatory for all persons holding licenced weapons to deposit their arms and ammunition with the respective district administrations by September 3, 2024.
The following are some of the other requirements that a private person must fulfill to be eligible for an arms licence:
- She or he must be a citizen of Bangladesh.
- An applicant must be of sound mental and physical health.
- An applicant must be a tax-paying individual.
- An applicant must prove filing of tax returns for three consecutive financial years with a minimum tax payment of Taka 3 lakh for an applicant seeking licence for pistol/revolver/rifle) or Taka 1 lakh for applicants seeking licence for a shotgun. All relevant National Board of Revenue (NBR) documents, duly certified, must be submitted with the application.
- Overseas Bangladeshis or Bangladeshis with dual citizenship must provide proof of tax payment of Taka 12 lakh annually for three consecutive tax filing years.
Asif Mahmud claimed in a Facebook post on June 29, presumably after landing in Marakkesh, that he “possesses a valid arms licence” and holding a weapon was “natural” following the murder attempts on “people’s uprising leaders”.
In his Facebook post, he explains that in the course of packing his luggage for the Marrakesh trip, he left behind his weapon and “unintentionally” carried the magazine in his bag.
“When the scanner machine detected the magazine, I handed it over to my protocol officer,” Asif Mahmud wrote. This was another illegality, considering that the magazine should have been seized by the security personnel stationed at the spot where it was detected. Besides, Asif Mahmud should have been questioned by the security personnel at the highest level, given that he is an adviser in the Bangladesh government.
Regulations issued by the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) clearly state that firearms and ammunition are prohibited on civil aircraft, except for specific exceptions like law enforcement or authorised personnel with valid licenses.
Passengers with valid firearm licenses can “transport” their firearms, but they must declare them at the airport, and the firearms and ammunition must be “transported” in a specific manner, typically by the airline.
Additionally, HSIA has its own specific regulations on firearms and ammunition. These regulations say that firearms cannot be carried by a passenger other than “law enforcement agencies and authorized personnel” who must have valid permits to carry them on flights.
HSIA regulations say, “Passengers who bring firearms into (the airport) must declare these at the entry gate before entering the terminal. The firearm and ammunition must also be declared with the airline at the check-in counter. The passengers must present their valid firearms licence to the airline.”
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More importantly, HSIA says clearly that “ammunition must be packed in a separate container and locked. Firearms and ammunition must be transported by airlines. Passengers are not allowed to carry them in their check-in or cabin luggage”.
