Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BAJUS) have demanded the inclusion of its representative in the anti-smuggling task force of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In a meeting with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at the Secretariat on Tuesday, leaders of the organisation also demanded its representatives, including the president and general secretary, to be a part of anti-smuggling activities and the law-and-order committee at divisional and district levels.
BAJUS spokesperson Dr Dilip Kumar Roy said, “We had a meeting with him [the minister] about some problems of BAJUS. However, the discussion was fruitful.”
“Under the leadership of the current BAJUS President Sayem Sobhan Anvir, around 40,000 jewellery shop owners in Bangladesh have come under our same platform.
We have gone through various crises. The minister has played a significant role in the past and he has promised to solve our problems in the future as well.”
BAJUS’ written proposal to the Home Minister said, “We are proposing to include representative of BAJUS in the anti-smuggling task force of the ministry.”
It also demanded the inclusion of the president and general secretary of the BAJUS district branch in the law-and-order committee.
While transporting gold, jewellery traders frequently face harassment from law enforcement agencies. In response, BAJUS advocates for the implementation of stringent measures to prevent such harassment.
BAJUS insists that law enforcement agencies refrain from disturbing gold ornament carriers who can provide a copy of the company’s invoice and the carrier’s national identity card, the proposal reads.
Numerous thefts and robberies have occurred in jewellery shops nationwide. Presently, the existing law categorises the incidents as general theft when reported to the police station.
Given the precious nature of gold, BAJUS have proposed a legislative change to address the specific issue.
Additionally, it urged prompt action in investigating past crimes for a more effective resolution.
Dilip Kumar Roy said, “We want to be smart jewellery traders as announced by the Prime Minister of Smart Bangladesh.
For this, our Prime Minister has given a new policy. According to the policy, we can export and import gold.”
There are some legal hurdles in this import-export. Due to this, we cannot determine the price of gold in keeping with the global market, he added.
In the meeting, BAJUS Vice-Presidents Gulzar Ahmed, Md Ripnul Hasan, Masudur Rahman, Md Zainal Abedin and Samit Ghosh; Adviser Ruhul Amin Russell, Executive members Dr Dewan Aminul Islam Shaheen, Pavitra Chandra Ghosh and Iqbal Uddin were present.
