IT appears that the command and control in the police service are no more at work. There is no rule of law dominating their personal behaviour or service conduct. People get more panicked now on presence of police in their doorsteps fearing unknown danger. Police is known for ‘arrest-business’ for quite some time but in recent time they are more often dreaded as the angel of deaths. The arrest-business has now turned into killing business. A recent story in a national daily retold the tragedy very frequently coming to the press. It said plain clothed Pallabi thana police picked up a boy – GM Nahid (28) on February 2 from his home at Mirpur-11. Family alleged that police demanded Tk 5 lakh for his release; otherwise he would be shown arrested on criminal cases, they threatened. The family failed to pay and his bullet-riddled body was later found at outlaying Bhashantek area in the capital. Earlier police had also threatened to put him to crossfire if the family discloses the matter.
The story within the police establishment shows a horrendous disorder in chain of command of the law-enforcing agency. This has been more conspicuous due to the present political chaos when the government is relying more on the law-enforcers to retain power. When government misses the people’s power, then it has nothing to rely on except the force and other law enforcers along with muscle men in the ruling quarters. The present government seems doing it very tactically making a merger of law enforcers and the party cadres at different levels. While the top brasses in the police force are competing with each other to prove their loyalty to the government, the police officers from mid-level to the grass roots are more busy with party leaders to make their fortune ignoring their service code and the chain of command.
Now police is just taking advantage of the vulnerability of the government in its fight to stay in power and earning extra bucks arresting people under different criminal excuses. And in doing so they are following the ancient norms – ‘to kill the dog, give it a bad name’. The law enforcers are doing it very frequently terming a victim, mainly opposition leaders and workers as terrorist while working for the government to help maintain its hold on power. They are either serving the interest of the ruling elite killing the people though they are paid by the state and appointed to protect the people. They are also serving their self-interest using the uniform and breaking the law. We urge the government to put a brake to indiscriminate involvement of police in criminal acts and give back the citizen their trust in the police force.
