THE police on Monday demanded more facilities, including medical service corps, life-long ration and allowances, while PM Sheikh Hasina told them to take care that no innocent people fell prey to their torture and harassment. On the first day of the five-day Police Week, they demanded a sports complex, increasing the amount of existing motorcycle loan and enhancement of the ‘death on duty’ allowance up to Tk 15 lakh.
Police high-ups on Tuesday during the meetings with Home and Land ministers demanded land allocation for the force and appointment of police officials to the key posts, including that of the Director General at Department of the Immigration and Passport. They also demanded empowerment of SPs to preside over law and order meetings in districts, 10 helicopters, financial rewards for recovering narcotics and promotions for DIG to Additional IG ranking officials in appropriate posts including overseas missions.
It speaks volumes about the levels of efficiency and corruption in the police force when the PM herself asks them to ensure that innocent people are not harassed or tortured. We think, steps must be taken to ensure a positive image of the police before the nation. It is unacceptable that due to the actions of a certain sub-section of police the image of the entire force gets tarnished. Public would like to see more actions taken against those police officials committing crimes instead of the current departmental actions of simply ‘closing’ them and making them re-appear somewhere else.
At the very least we need a competent and reliable police force who are recruited solely on the basis of merit and have proven their ability providing service to the public with care and efficiency; not with callousness. This will reduce the number of crimes and enhance the force’s reputation. If the police gain a reputation of fearless efficiency then the entire nation will be benefitted.
