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A megaphone in one hand, a pistol in the other, he stepped out of his vehicle. His bodyguards rushed towards people standing beside railway tracks. Someone beside him was heard saying, “I’ll shoot you dead.” One bodyguard kicked a young man.
This was no scene from a Bollywood masala movie. It was an afternoon in Dhaka, and the armed man was Bangladesh’s State Minister for Liberation War Affairs, Ishraque Hossain.
Near Gendaria Railway Station on Saturday, the minister took on a role usually left to police: leading what he described as an operation against a drug den.
“Sir, I haven’t done anything. I’m a poor man, sir,” young men were heard saying in a video posted on his Facebook page. “The police will come, then we’ll talk,” Hossain replied.
According to Bangladeshi publication Prothom Alo, six people were detained and handed over to police. Whether the powder allegedly found in their possession was a drug would have to await testing, police said.
The clip drew attention and questions about the minister’s conduct. It was later deleted.
Ishraque’s Action: Drug den demolished, dealers handed over to the police. Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026 Location: Gendaria, near the railway tracks. #AdminPost #Ishraque_Hossain #Ishraque #Dhaka_6 https://t.co/fCW5BqjKdh— Ishraque Hossain (@ishraqueBD) October 17, 2026
THE POLICE WOULD COME. BUT DID THEY KNOW?
Hossain’s assurance to the detained men that police would arrive left another question: had officers been told about the raid?
Pavel Sikder, a former Dhaka City South convener of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal who accompanied the minister, said they had.
He told Prothom Alo that the group reached the area between 3 pm and 3.30 pm following repeated complaints from residents. Police had been informed but took time to arrive, he said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police additional deputy commissioner Masud Rana offered a different account. “The minister did not inform us about the raid in advance; we learned about it afterwards,” he told reporters.
A MINISTER WITH A PISTOL AND A COMPLAINT
The 39-year-old minister, a member of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh ist Party, was elected from Dhaka-6 in the February 12 parliamentary elections. The area where he led the operation falls within his constituency.
“I have held meetings with the police at least 30 to 40 times. They give different explanations each time. They say they lack manpower and vehicles, among other things,” he told Prothom Alo.
He claimed police officers had previously been shot and injured during an operation there. He carried the firearm because drug dealers fired at people from a distance, he said.
Police disputed his allegation of inaction. Moniruzzaman said 300 police personnel had taken part in an operation on October 11, supported by the Detective Branch and Special Response Battalion.
Hossain maintained that his weapon was legally owned and denied using it to intimidate anyone. “I did not fire any shots, nor did I use it to intimidate anyone. Yes, we conducted the operation, and we are building social resistance,” he said.
According to Prothom Alo, the firearm policy permits carrying licensed weapons for self-defence but prohibits displaying them in a way that causes fear or annoyance.
TAKING THE FIELD, AND FILMING IT
Hossain’s followers are familiar with videos of him taking matters into his own hands.
His Facebook page, with nearly four million followers, has featured his participation in cleanliness drives and efforts to curb rising commodity prices.
The deleted post also said he had also conducted anti-drug raids elsewhere in his constituency and intended to continue.
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