Dhaka: Public safety concerns have been raised in Bangladesh by the fact that police have not been present in office for several months following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government last month, according to media reports.
Members of the force, who are primarily responsible for preserving law and order, continue to suffer from low morale due to fear of being removed, reassigned, sued, or even arrested, The Daily Star reported.
Many police officers went into hiding after the August 5 exile of Hasina from the country, said top police officers. According to sources, 700-800 officers have continued to stay away from work without leave.
Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the home ministry’s advisor, asked district police superintendents on Thursday to work hard with the limited resources they had.
It is the obligation of police to restore public faith which has been undermined by previous irregularities and corruption, he said.
Before and soon after Hasina’s departure, police faced unprecedented public outrage as mobs set fire to their cars and houses and wrecked police facilities in retaliation for law enforcement’s use of excessive force, including fatal weaponry, on protestors.
According to police sources, approximately 450 police stations out of 664 were attacked, with several being set on fire by rioters.
According to Police Headquarters statistics, 5,829 weapons and 6,06,742 bullets were stolen. Of those, 3,763 firearms and 2,86,082 bullets were found.
Since the collapse of the Awami League administration, 278 charges have been brought against 94 police officers in the capital. The defendants include three former inspectors general of police. From constables to high-ranking officials have been charged.
Eight extra inspectors general, seven deputy inspectors general, 12 superintendents of police, 14 additional SPs, six assistant SPs, 12 OCs, eight inspectors, ten sub-inspectors, and one assistant sub-inspector were among those charged.
