Four top police officials, including former Special Branch chief Md Monirul Islam and ex-Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Md Habibur Rahman, were sent into forced retirement yesterday.
The other two officials are Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Moniruzzaman and Rangpur Range Deputy Inspector General Abdul Baten. The two were in command on July 16 when police shot dead Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayed in Rangpur.
A video showed Sayed, an organiser of the quota reform protest, being shot while holding a stick at the university gate.
Earlier yesterday, Monirul, an additional inspector general of police, was transferred to the Police Headquarters. Two days ago, Habibur was attached to the PHQ.
The police department yesterday underwent another major shakeup with 65 key officials transferred and given new postings.
Among them are the chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, key officials in the PHQ, the deputy commissioners of 15 out of the 16 crime divisions of DMP and the Detective Branch, and the officers-in-charge of 18 police stations in the capital.
Many of these officials had jurisdiction over the areas where the police recently opened indiscriminate fire on the quota reform protesters.
Almost all the DCs and OCs had been serving in “lucrative” commanding positions in the capital for many years. Many of them were transferred to different districts far away from Dhaka, said police sources.
The home ministry and the PHQ issued separate circulars in this regard, transferring the 58 officials ranging from the ranks of additional inspector general of police to inspector.
The PHQ in a press release said a total of 634 out of the 639 police stations across the country resumed operations until yesterday.
Md Shah Alam, DIG of Railway Police, was made the chief of SB. Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia, chief of CID, was transferred to the PHQ and another Additional IGP Tawfiq Mahbub Chowdhury was made the chief of Police Bureau of Investigation.
Additional IGP Anwar Hossain, who was serving as DIG (operations) at the PHQ, was transferred to the specialised training centre of Armed Police Battalion in Khagrachhari.
Earlier, the interim government changed the IGP, director general of Rapid Action Battalion and Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner. The interim government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus, took office on August 8 following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Sources in the police said the officers transferred were known to be close to the previous Awami League government. The force was heavily politicised during the tenures of the three successive governments led by Hasina.
A section of opportunistic and ambitious police officials extensively used the force to implement AL’s agendas.
These officials played roles in excessive use of force, reckless firing on the quota reform protesters, and persecution of opposition leaders over the years. That is why police came under widespread attacks from mobs after the fall of the Hasina government, the sources added.
More than 400 people, including 42 police personnel, were killed in clashes during the quota reform protest.
Amid such a situation, anger gripped different levels of the police, particularly the force members from the ranks of constable to sub-inspector. They claimed that police personnel used excessive force during the recent student movement following the orders of the senior officials. This triggered anger among the people, leading to the cops coming under mob attacks.
Police personnel even called strike demanding punishment for the senior officials responsible for issuing orders, and formation of a commission to run the force. They also called for changing police’s uniform and logo due to the mistrust that has grown among people for the forcer’s recent activities.
Yesterday, the PHQ formed a 10-member committee to change police’s uniform and logo.
Hearing the news of DIG Baten being sent into forced retirement, people of his village home in Sunamganj’s Madhyanagar upazila celebrated yesterday by distributing sweets among the villagers, reports our Sylhet correspondent.
Many villagers alleged that they had been oppressed by the family members of Baten for long.
