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Published : 20 Nov 2017, 07:15 PM
In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday, it cleared the drafts of the 'Gazipur Metropolitan Police Act, 2017' and 'Rangpur Metropolitan Police Act, 2017'.
Briefing the media at the Secretariat, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said, with some expansion, the laws would be similar to those of Barisal and Khulna city corporations.
He said the laws detailed the kind of punishments police could hand to offenders.
According to him, police can fine from Tk 2,000 up to Tk 5,000 for wrong-lane driving, illegal parking and hampering movement of citizens by stopping vehicles without any reason once the laws get the president's approval.
Drivers would have to pay fines between Tk 1,000 and Tk 2,000 for parking or driving vehicles on pavements.
The cabinet secretary said the penalty for sexually harassing women is also outlined in the draft laws.
He said offenders would be sentenced to one year in jail, and handed fines between Tk 5,000 and Tk 10,000.
The offences under these provisions include exhibiting one's body parts to any woman, stopping them or touching any body parts on the way, and hurling abusive words towards any woman at homes, streets, markets, fairs or shopping malls.
Shafiul said senior judicial magistrates would be in charge until metropolitan magistrate's courts are set up in Rangpur and Gazipur.
The government upgraded Rangpur municipality to city corporation in 2012. With an area of 203 square kilometres, it has a population of 795,000.
Gazipur, upgraded to a city corporation in 2013, has around 2 million people in an area of 330 square kilometres.
