DHAKA: Bangladesh announced on Wednesday cash rewards to surrender machine guns, rifles and pistols looted during an uprising last year, hoping to collect hundreds of weapons ahead of key elections.

An estimated 6,000 firearms were stolen from police armouries during the deadly August 2024 unrest that toppled the hardline rule of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

More than 1,300 are still reported as missing, police spokesman AHM Shahadat Hossaine said. Police issued a list of rewards for their return, ranging from just over $4,000 for a light machine gun to $800 for an assault rifle, and $400 for a shotgun or pistol. Cash would also be paid for ammunition.

“Bangladesh Police guarantee full confidentiality”, Hossaine said, urging people to hand them in. Ban­gladesh has been in political turmoil since Hasina fled into exile last year, and political parties are jostling for power ahead of polls slated for February 2026.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2025