State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraque Hossain personally led an anti-drug operation in Dhaka's Gendaria area on Saturday, carrying a licensed pistol, after saying police had failed to act on repeated complaints from his constituency.

Video posted on his Facebook page, and later removed, showed him stepping from a vehicle with the firearm and shouting as armed bodyguards chased suspected drug dealers near the Dayaganj Ghuntighar railway crossing. One security guard was seen kicking a detained man. The people detained were later handed over to police.

Ishraque, the MP for Dhaka-6, said residents had complained about drug trafficking in the area and that he had held 30 to 40 meetings with police without effective action. He said officers repeatedly cited shortages of personnel and vehicles, so he decided to intervene himself.

The state minister said the pistol was licensed and intended for his protection, and that he had not fired it or threatened anyone with it. Footage nonetheless showed him holding the weapon in the presence of civilians, including children.

Gendaria police station officer-in-charge Moniruzzaman disputed the suggestion that police had been inactive. He said about 300 officers, including members of the Detective Branch and the Special Response Battalion, had carried out a major anti-drug operation in the area on October 11, and that police kept Ishraque informed of their operations.

The episode has raised questions about a state minister's use of a firearm. Under the Home Ministry's 2025 firearms policy, licensed weapons may be carried for self-defence but must not be displayed in a way that causes fear or annoyance to others. Prothom Alo quoted senior lawyer Sharif Bhuiyan as describing the display of the licensed weapon as unlawful.