SANGSAD BHABAN, Oct 23, 2023 (BSS) - Ansar Battalion Bill-2023 was placed in the Jatiya Sangsad, keeping the death penalty as the maximum punishment for different crimes, including mutiny and provocation for rebellion.
 
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan today placed the bill in the House with Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
 
Piloting the bill, the minister said the proposed bill has been placed in the house in an attempt to make an auxiliary force apart from the police forces.
 
According to the proposed law, there will be two courts to try the internal crimes of Ansar battalion members. One is 'Summery Ansar Battalion Court' to be headed by an additional director and another is 'Special Ansar Battalion Court' to be headed by the director general.
 
"Serious crimes like committing mutiny, instigating a revolt, creating ground for rebellion, engaging in conspiracy will be tried in the Special Ansar Battalion Court. The maximum punishment for such crimes is the death penalty," he said.
 
Besides, other serious crimes, related to the punitive provisions ranging from life imprisonment to minimum five years of imprisonment, will be tried in special courts, he added.
 
The Act comprises 33 sections, and a working paper from the Public Security Department of the Ministry of Interior highlights a key amendment. Section 6 (a) of the existing Battalion Ansar Act of 1995 currently sets the tenure for Battalion Ansar members at 6 years.

However, a proposal to amend this to a one-year period, starting from the date of their service initiation, was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs in July 2018.
 
Subsequently, it was deemed inappropriate to amend an existing law section. Instead, the Ministry decided to enact the Ansar Battalion Act-2019, aligned with the provisions of the Border Guard Bangladesh Act of 2010, covering crimes and punishments related to rebellion.
 
The minister urged the House to send the bill to the concerned parliamentary standing committee to provide reports with three days.