Law Adviser Mainul Hosein said the business magnates are very few in number but they can still create a crisis by not assisting the government in its efforts to contain price hike.

He was speaking to reporters after a meeting of the council at the law ministry.

Appealing to the business community not to panic at the ongoing crackdown and show patriotism, he said the government would rather assist them in running businesses smoothly.

He asked them to release goods from their depots and destroy the rotten wheat or rice if there are any in the warehouses.

PETTY OFFENDERS TO BE FREED
On the Independence Day, the government will release 2,500 to 3,000 inmates who are serving for minor offences and are detained on suspicion.

"We'll free them considering the gravity of the charges against them. The decision has been to take some load off the jails crammed full of prisoners," Mainul said.

ACTION FOR NOT SUBMITTING FIREARMS
From March 1, the government will start returning the licensed small arms to those who had submitted those in response to an earlier notification.

It will take legal action against the owners of 2,351 pistols and revolvers for not surrendering those by the deadline. The revolvers and pistols submitted to the government totalled 6,676.

"The government may cancel their licences or issue arrest warrants against them," said a meeting source.

About the 'extensive' legal weaknesses that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has long been faced with, Mainul said, "I don't think there is any major weak point. The commission has already drafted some rules and are working to find whether they need anything more."

The reorganised anti-graft body will have necessary logistic support from the government, he added.

Meantime, the police will step up security measures for the shops directed to close at 7:00pm every day as part of the measures to conserve electricity.

Education Adviser Ayub Quadri, Home Secretary Abdul Karim and other officials concerned were present at the meeting.