Police Academy, Central Jail to Be Established in Jungle Salimpur: Home Minister

The government has decided to establish two new camps in the hilly areas adjacent to the Rohingya camps to prevent abductions and other crimes. The two camps will be set up in the hills of Rangikhali and Noakhali Para in Teknaf under the leadership of the 10 Infantry Division based in Ramu. Besides, a police academy and a central jail will be established in Jungle Salimpur on the model of the one in Sardah.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed made the remarks on Thursday after meetings of the “National Committee on Coordination, Management and Law and Order of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals” and the “Meeting on Overall Improvement of Law and Order in Jungle Salimpur, Chattogram” at the Secretariat.

The Home Minister said regular incidents of abduction take place in various ways in the two hilly areas known as Rangikhali and Noakhali Para. To stop such incidents, it has been decided to establish two camps in the areas under the leadership of the 10 Infantry Division. The meeting observed that such crimes would be eliminated from the areas once the two camps are established.

Joint operations are being conducted against various crimes, including drugs, arms and human trafficking, as well as to address the law-and-order situation inside and outside the Rohingya camps. He also announced a decision to reconstruct fencing or barbed-wire barriers to strengthen security around the Rohingya camps.

In addition, lighting arrangements using solar power will be installed outside the camps, along with CCTV cameras, control towers and watchtowers. In the event of any emergency, the situation will be handled under the leadership of the army. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been established for this purpose.

The meeting also took decisions on various issues, including law and order, administration, relief assistance, drugs, activities of armed groups and camp security.

At the other meeting, the Home Minister said initiatives had been taken to free the Jungle Salimpur area of Chattogram from being a haven for terrorism and bring it under good governance and discipline. A decision has been taken to establish a police academy there on the model of the one in Sardah.

Besides, 72 acres of land have been acquired in Jungle Salimpur for relocating the Chattogram Central Jail. Land has also been acquired to ensure the presence of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Special Reserve Force (SRB) and Armed Police Battalion in the Jungle Salimpur area alongside the police.

The respective forces will construct facilities on these sites, thereby ensuring good governance and law and order in the area. Government-owned land, hill-classified land and khas land in Salimpur will be brought under good governance.

A road network is currently being constructed in the Jungle Salimpur area under the coordination of the Armed Forces Division and the leadership of the Engineering Construction Battalion (ECB). Government-owned land in Salimpur will also be brought under integrated management.

The Home Minister said the entire area would be brought under good governance and discipline, freeing it from its previous status as a haven for terrorism.

Elaborating on the various decisions taken at an inter-ministerial meeting on Jungle Salimpur, the Home Minister said senior officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), the divisional commissioner and deputy commissioner of Chattogram, as well as senior officials of law-enforcement agencies, attended the meeting.

Representatives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), BGB, Armed Police Battalion, Coast Guard and SRB also participated in the meeting.