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Published : 12 Aug 2024, 12:14 PM
A week since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina administration in the face of a student-led mass movement, the police in the country have yet to return to regular duties.
The police stations reopened on Monday, but with limited services.
Police Headquarters says that most stations across the country have reopened. However, they have yet to become fully operational due to safety concerns and other issues.
Most of the policemen have not joined work. Initially, the authorities are trying to run the stations with army guards. Some police stations were working with a nominal staff and plainclothes police, and only accepting general diaries.
Those who have already joined say they cannot muster up the courage to go out due to safety issues. Some junior officers also raised some demands before they would rejoin, which has created complications.
In addition, the torching of police vehicles will cause interruptions even once the situation goes back to normal.
As of Sunday afternoon, 599 of 639 police stations have reopened across the country, claimed the Police Headquarters.
The updated data of police station operational activities showed that 97 of 110 metropolitan police stations and 502 of 529 district police stations resumed work as of Sunday afternoon.
On Aug 5, Sheikh Hasina reportedly resigned as protesters marched on Dhaka amid a curfew. After she left the country on the same day, police stations in Dhaka were attacked, vandalised and torched.
Ramna Police Station remained unscathed but most of the Dhaka police stations bore the brunt of the attacks. None of the members in Ramna Police Station was subjected to violence or vehicles were torched, officials claimed.
As per the directives, the station has resumed operations at a limited scale. All of the policemen were on duty inside the station and did not dare to go out.
On Sunday, army personnel were seen ensuring security at the entrance to the Ramna Police Station. They confirmed the identities of the visitors before they could enter the station. Also, they queried about their reason for the visit.
Some people were seen inside seeking police service. They came to file general diaries (GD) over family issues. The duty officer was serving them.
The telephone operator was sitting next to the duty officer. But none of the officers wore uniforms.
“None of my force was injured and they did not injure anyone either. Some of them are traumatised due to their colleagues’ deaths, but I tried to provide full mental support to them. They’re here in the station too,” said Utpal Barua, chief of Ramna Police Station.
“We’re receiving GDs and cases. But there’s no outside work for us. We’ve yet to resume operational service outside the station.”
The situation at Mohammadpur Police Station was quite different.
On Aug 5, after Hasina resigned, each room in Mohammadpur Police Station was attacked and vandalised. Everything, including firearms, was looted and the station was set ablaze.
On Saturday, students from different educational institutes in Mohammadpur cleaned up the burnt police station. As such, some rooms were clear, but there was no furniture inside.
Army personnel were on guard at the entrance on Sunday. Some Ansar were there, but no policemen.
Only some broken tables were found inside the duty officer and OC’s rooms.
The attackers even looted air-conditioning machines, and fans from the prayer room, said Didarul Islam, imam at the police station. They threw the Quran and took away the rack holding it.
"Most of the policemen in the station joined, but they went back home as the police station is in no fit state to serve the people,” he said.
DMP Tejgaon Deputy Commissioner HM Azimul Haque said all of the police stations under his jurisdiction (Tejgaon, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Mohammadpur, Adabor, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, and Hatirjheel) had reopened, but not all of them were receiving GDs and cases.
Only the Tejgaon, Hatirjheel and Sher-E-Bangla Nagar police stations were receiving complaints.
The Paltan and Motijheel Police Stations were also taking GDs as part of their service. Mostly, GDs were filed over family issues or lost items.
Many police members had yet to rejoin.
“We’re still scared to go out. Wearing the uniform is out of the question now; we’re not even identifying ourselves as policemen. We’re not carrying ID cards,” said a member of Paltan Police Station.
They said it would take time to resume full-fledged police service. In many police stations, all the vehicles were torched.
Hence, police would have difficulty in performing their duties, they said.
