“We had to shoot them dead one by one, sir,” a senior police officer by the name of Iqbal (according to the name plate on his chest) tells Asaduzzaman Khan, the former home minister, about their ordeal in dealing with the protesters.
One of the many video clips making the rounds on social media and messaging platforms shows a group of men standing in a huddle under the open sky watching a video clip while Iqbal voices his exasperation at not being able to subdue, presumably, the protesters.
Chilling video surfaces of police talking to ex-home minister about subduing the #protesters in #Bangladesh
Video: Collected pic.twitter.com/P5dUIIy6m6— The Daily Star (@dailystarnews) August 13, 2024
While there is no obvious reference to the protests that rocked Bangladesh in late July and early August, one can only presume that the video Asaduzzaman was being shown was of a dead protester, considering Iqbal’s remarks.
The 43-second video clip appears to have been recorded by someone holding a cell phone over the shoulders of Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun since his epaulette bearing the IGP’s insignia are clearly visible as is his profile for a brief second.
Iqbal speaks of his frustration and failure of not being able to scare away the protesters. “We shoot one dead, or we wound one, and that is the only one that falls. The rest don’t budge, sir.”
He continues, “And that is why we are so scared and worried,” as the home minister watches with a jaded expression the video clip showing a protester lying dead. There is not a hint of regret, or the slightest sign of guilt, nor reproach on the home minister’s face.
Iqbal goes on to brief Asaduzzaman, who has been in hiding since August 5, about the dead body on the phone screen and most likely how that person was killed. Subtitles claim that the DMP commissioner is also among Iqbal’s audience.
There have been a number of disturbingly violent video clips making the rounds on social media and messaging platforms showing police brutality. But this clip, about three-quarters of a minute, is perhaps the most chilling.
The keepers of the law and a minister of the republic, who are supposed to protect citizens, speak about killing them as if it were a skeet shoot.
