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Published : 29 Apr 2025, 11:01 AM
Police Week is being marked with different initiatives to enable the law enforcement agency to “turn around” after its clashes with the public during the mass uprising in July and August.
Police Week is being celebrated “simply” with the theme “My police, my country, a discrimination-free Bangladesh.”
Programmes will commence on Tuesday with Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’s speech at the Rajarbagh Police Lines. The main programmes will continue for three days.
The formal events will end with a programme organised by the Police Nari Kalyan Samity (PONAK) on Friday.
A day before the annual conference of police personnel from across the country, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam said at a press conference: “We’re celebrating Police Week in a simple manner. There’s nothing of festivity or merriment here. We want a functional Police Week rather than a formal one.”
Regarding this year’s Police Week’s theme, he said: “We want to instil this idea in people’s minds. So, they can say: in this discrimination-free Bangladesh, the police belong to us.”
After the changeover in power on Aug 5 last year, the police system almost collapsed as the public grew agitated and attacked structures of the force following weeks of intense violence. Police members were also “disgruntled”, blaming their high-ups for making the force the “attack dogs” against the movement.
Under the circumstances, the authorities said they were working to ‘make the police system effective.’ This year’s Police Week starts amid discussions and demands for reforms.
Officials said they would place demands of an independent police commission, compensation allowance, formation of an independent cyber unit and raise other issues during this year’s Police Week, which will have a “different flavour”.
No parades or other competitions are part of Police Week this year. Newspaper supplements have not been published and senior police officials are not attending a conference at the Chief Advisor’s Office.
However, for the first time, the policymakers of the law enforcement agency will have an exchange of opinions with people from all walks of life.
