Aman, also the ruling party MP of Keraniganj, was speaking at a meeting of Dhaka District Law and Order Committee.

He said illegal arms smuggled into the commercial town across the Buriganga river were the main reason behind the slide in law and order in his constituency.

"Disastrous incidents may occur any time if the illegal arms are not recovered immediately," he added.

Communications Minister Nazmul Huda, who chaired the meeting as minister-in-charge of Dhaka district, asked Aman to cooperate with police in recovering illegal arms and arresting criminals.

Mohammad Bakhtiar Alam, superintendent of police, Dhaka, told committee members that law and order in Keraniganj and Savar had deteriorated.

Referring to a resolution adopted in the last meeting for setting up another police station in Keraniganj, he said a proposal was sent to the home minister only to be rejected.

However, the home minister advised to raise the number of police camps in the fast growing commercial town, he added.

Meanwhile, Public Prosecutor Mohsen Ali Khan said many criminal cases could not be disposed of as some prosecution witnesses show their reluctance to appear before the court.

Huda proposed to issue warrants of arrest against those witnesses for police to bring them to courts.

Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury sent a message to the committee saying the government would seriously consider allegations of repression on journalists by police.

He also instructed the deputy commissioner of police and superintendent of police not to harass any journalist.