Crimes by police on the rise [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Crimes by police on the rise

Local January 18, 2016

The reported involvement of members of the police in various crimes such as torture, mugging, extortion, drug dealing and kidnapping, appear to be on the rise.
Two recent incidents of police torture of a Bangladesh Bank official and Dhaka South City Corporation official have shed a spotlight on the phenomenon.
In 2015, at least 76 policemen, ranging from constables to sub-inspectors, were terminated for criminal offences, reveal Police headquarters statistics. Another 9,958 were punished for negligence and indiscipline.
Inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Hoque however claimed there were only ‘some scattered incidents’ of police involvement in crimes.
‘The large portion of the police force is not involved in crimes, but some are,’ he said. ‘We take each incident seriously. We are strict at taking measures against unruly personnel’, the police chief said.
He said the perpetrators of recent incidents involving the Bangladesh Bank official and Dhaka South City Corporation official would be punished after investigation.
On January 9, sub-inspector Masud Shikder of Mohammadpur police station tortured Bangladesh Bank official Golam Rabby and threatened to kill him in ‘crossfire’ and demanded Tk 5 lakh in ransom.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police suspended him on January 16.
Six days after the incident, Dhaka South City Corporation cleaning inspector Bikash Chandra Das was tortured brutally by a team of plainclothes police in Mir Hazirbagh on January 15. The accused sub-inspector Arshad Hossain Akash was suspended on January 16.
The growing involvement of police in crimes came into focus after some of its personnel were arrested on various charges, including extortion, drug smuggling, rape and human trafficking, over the last year.
On January 16, 10 members of Barisal Metropolitan Police were punished with a stay on promotion and increment after being found guilty by investigators of setting up a ‘bribe-fund’ allegedly to bribe officials for their promotions.
On December 15, last year, two policemen were arrested over snatching gold, weighing 1.6 kg, from a trader in Chittagong city back in September 21.
Assistant Sub Inspector Mizanur Rahman and Constable Khane Alam were closed after their arrest.
On December 6, last year, a constable of Sylhet Metropolitan Police was caught red-handed while trying to snatch money from a woman in Jindabazar of the city in broad daylight.
The accused cop, Sharif Rana, later was posted at the district vehicle section of Sylhet police.
On December 6, last year, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested two policemen along with 975 pieces Yaba tablets in Puran Bazaar area of Gabtali in Bogra. The arrested Enamul Haque and Mehedi Hasan were constables of the Pahartali Railway Police in Chittagong.
On March 14, last year, police recovered the decomposed body of a nine-year-old schoolboy from a police constable’s house in Sylhet city, three days after he was kidnapped for ransom.
Sylhet airport police constable Ebadul Rahman, Sylhet district Olema League general secretary Abdur Rakib and Geda Miah, who claimed to be a Rapid Action Battalion informant, were arrested on charge of killing the boy after abduction.
On June 21, last year, Rapid Action Battalion arrested Mahfuzur Rahman, 35, an assistant sub-inspector of special branch of police, and seized around 6.80 lakh Yaba tablets worth around Tk 27 crore in his car in Feni Sadar.
During interrogation, Mahfuz confessed that some other policemen were also involved with the drugs racket. Based on his confession, the officer-in-charge of Cox’s Bazar detective branch of police was closed to the DIG office and 10 policemen were transferred to different districts for their suspected involvement in Yaba smuggling and human trafficking.
Zia Rahman, chairman of department of criminology at Dhaka University said lax monitoring of high-ups and a failure to establish the chain of command were contributing to the police involvement in crimes.
He said the force failed to give exemplary punishment to its corrupt officials and it usually did not follow up on allegations against any of its personnel.
Former inspector general of police Hadis Uddin said the use of suspension and other low intensity departmental action will not work in containing police’s crime.
The police ordinance should be implemented properly, he said.