State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraque Hossain, 39, carried out an armed raid on a suspected drug den near Gendaria Railway Station in Dhaka on Saturday, 17 October 2026, without coordinating with police.
Video posted on Hossain's Facebook account shows him exiting a vehicle with a megaphone in one hand and a pistol in the other. According to Prothom Alo, someone accompanying him was heard saying, "I'll shoot you dead." At least two other people with Hossain were also carrying firearms, and one of his bodyguards kicked a young man during the operation.
Hossain and his associates detained six people and handed them over to local police. Gendaria police station officer-in-charge Moniruzzaman Monir said officers arrived after being informed that men had been detained. "Some powder was found in their possession, which will be tested to find out if the substance is a drug," Monir said, according to The Times of India.
Police say they were not told in advance
Dhaka metropolitan police's additional deputy commissioner Masud Rana told reporters: "The minister did not inform us about the raid in advance; we learned about it afterwards." The operation raised immediate questions about whether elected officials should conduct armed law enforcement operations independently of police.
Hossain, a member of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was elected to Parliament from Dhaka-6 in elections held on 12 February 2026. He captioned the video "Ishraque's Action: Drug dens smashed and dealers handed over to the police" and said he had previously conducted anti-drug raids in his constituency.
During the operation, Hossain told detainees, "You are ruining the entire town, destroying the entire area," according to The Times of India. When some men claimed innocence, he responded, "Let police come, then there will be talks."
Was the firearm legally owned and displayed?
Hossain told Prothom Alo that the firearm he was carrying was legal. He said he acquired the weapon on 11 December 2025, after Sharif Osman Hadi was shot, and that there had been no opportunity to declare it in his nomination papers.
However, Hossain's election affidavit submitted to the returning officer did not mention firearm ownership. The deadline for submitting nomination papers was 29 December; Hossain submitted his on 28 December 2025, according to Prothom Alo. This timeline means Hossain obtained the weapon after the nomination deadline had passed.
Article 25 of the Home Ministry's 2025 firearms policy states: "A person may carry or use a firearm registered under their own licence for self-defence. However, a firearm must not be displayed in a manner that may cause fear or annoyance to others." Whether Hossain's display of the pistol during the raid complies with this provision remains unclear.
Who accompanied the minister
Hossain was accompanied by his two personal bodyguards, Tofazzal Hossain and Lavlu, as well as a government bodyguard, according to Prothom Alo. Pavel Sikder, former convener of the Dhaka City South unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, was also present at the scene.
Sikder told Prothom Alo that they arrived between 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm following repeated complaints from local residents, and that police had been informed but took time to arrive. Sikder claimed no shots were fired. The bodyguard who kicked the young man could not be identified by name, as government bodyguards rotate their duties, Sikder said.
What happens next
No charges have been announced against Hossain. Pending outcomes include whether the powder found will test positive as a drug, whether the Home Ministry or police will investigate the firearm display for policy violations, and what charges, if any, will be filed against the six detained individuals.