<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal clearly said that Ansar members will not be empowered to make arrest of offenders in the country.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The home minister on Wednesday said this while talking to reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting held at the Secretariat in Dhaka on the occasion of Victory Day celebrations.</div><div><br></div><div>On the other hand, a draft law titled “Ansar Battalion Bill-2023” was tabled in the parliament giving the Ansar members similar powers to Bangladesh Police, detaining criminals, conducting body searches and seising goods and valuables.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is a misinformation. It is your wrong perception and the question is an outcome of the wrong idea,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The Ansar members have never been granted the authority to arrest individuals, neither in the past nor today said the home minister adding, "We do not possess the legal means to confer such arresting powers upon the Ansar members."&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div>"The fundamental principle is that the country's law enforcement agencies must fulfill their responsibilities in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code," said the minister.</div><div><br></div><div>He also said that a bill has been placed in Parliament, which is currently undergoing review by the parliamentary standing committee.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>