TOUSIF KAIUM and MOHAMMAD JAMIL KHAN

Around 5:00am on January 11, a team of Rapid Action Battalion conducted a drive at a house in Raghunathpur in Benapole and recovered two firearms, six rounds of bullets and four magazines.

The words “Made in India” were written on the firearms, according to Mohammad Ashraf Hossain, the officer-in-charge of Benapole Port Police Station.

Police have information that such illegal arms are entering Bangladesh from the India border with the view to fuelling violence ahead of the polls.

At least 30 ‘linemen’, individuals who are involved in firearms smuggling and illegal crossings, are active in Jashore alone, according to the police intelligence database seen by The Daily Star.

Linemen play a central role in border crime, with most being locals with detailed knowledge of remote routes, rivers, chars and hilly trails, and in many cases, information on patrol schedules of law enforcement agencies.

At least 757 other linemen are active across the 26 border districts: 12 in Chattogram, 37 in Brahmanbaria, 99 in Cox’s Bazar, 10 in Feni, 38 in Cumilla, 116 in Bandarban, three in Rajshahi, 38 in Chapainawabganj, 16 in Joypurhat, 19 in Naogaon, five in Chuadanga, 16 in Meherpur, 52 in Satkhira, 21 in Jhenaidah, 58 in Sylhet, seven in Moulvibazar, 13 in Habiganj, 32 in Sunamganj,

SEE PAGE 10 COL 6