No arrests or harassment immediately after case filing: IGP

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam has said that the police have been instructed not to arrest or harass innocent people immediately after a case is filed.

“No one can be arrested just because a case has been filed. We will only arrest individuals who are found guilty through investigation,” he said.

The police chief made the statement at a press conference held in the capital’s Foreign Service Academy Monday afternoon.

The event was organised ahead of Police Week, which begins Tuesday with a three-day programme at Rajarbagh, Dhaka.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, members of the police press wing, and officials from various ranks were present at the briefing.

Also addressing the issue of misuse of legal provisions, Professor Asif Nazrul, Law Adviser to the government, said on Sunday that a growing number of harassing and malicious cases are being filed — often as tools to grab land, take over businesses, or intimidate individuals. 

Speaking at the inauguration of National Legal Aid Day, he noted, “There is no legal bar to filing a case, but many of these cases are unfortunate and regrettable. The Ministry of Home Affairs has repeatedly instructed that no arrests should be made where complaints lack substance, and courts are also trying to ensure legal protection accordingly.”

Responding to a question at the press conference, the IGP acknowledged that innocent people are sometimes included as accused in real cases. “The case itself may be genuine, but we cannot restrict the number of accused — that's a limitation in the existing legal framework,” he explained.

Referring to cases filed after 5 August, the IGP said, “In some instances, the actual crime was committed by five or 10 individuals, but cases were filed naming 300 people to extort money or harass them. We saw such a case as recently as yesterday.”

He also addressed allegations of police complicity in such harassment. “With rising literacy, complainants now often write the case details themselves. When a written complaint is submitted by a ‘plaintiff’ in legal terms — the police are legally bound to accept it. We are not authorised to determine its veracity at that point. Our duty is to register the complaint and then investigate,” he said.

Responding to a question about the process for releasing innocent individuals accused in cases, IGP Baharul Alam said, “If a case is found to be false, a complaint can be lodged against the plaintiff in court. However, this action can only be taken after the investigation is completed. Most investigations are still ongoing.”

Referring to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) cases, the IGP added, “Although no charge sheet has yet been filed in the case of death, charge sheets have been filed in two cases involving injuries.”

The police chief stressed that investigations must not be rushed. “If you rush to complete an investigation within a month, justice cannot be ensured. You need to be patient,” he said. 

He assured that individuals falsely accused would not face harassment in their daily lives. “Investigators have been instructed not to harass or arrest innocent persons.”

Highlighting another dimension of harassment, the IGP said, “Sometimes plaintiffs demand various favours by promising to remove someone’s name from a case. Many accused, without fully understanding the legal process, approach the plaintiff, who then claims in an affidavit that the name was mistakenly included. Through this tactic, some plaintiffs are extracting financial or other benefits.”

He clarified that such affidavits or statements have no bearing on the investigation. “No matter what the plaintiff claims, it does not affect the course of the investigation until the investigation report is submitted to the court. We cannot offer protection in such cases,” he said, urging people not to be deceived or extorted in this manner.

Baharul Alam advised those wrongly accused to seek help directly from the police. “If you are facing trouble, come to us. Inform us that you are not involved, and that you should not be harassed or arrested. In such cases, I personally intervene and instruct the concerned police station,” he said.

When asked about the current status of police reforms, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam spoke with noticeable regret. “We were very hopeful that the Police Reform Commission would put forward recommendations of public importance concerning the police,” he said.

The IGP explained that the police had submitted their own proposals to the commission, including the formation of an independent police commission to ensure autonomy from direct control by the executive branch. “The commission agreed with us in principle,” he said, “but they did not include any specific details or structural recommendations in their final report. The implementation of their suggestions, they said, will be left to the Ministry of Home Affairs.”

Emphasising a key concern, he added, “One of our main demands was the operational independence of police work, so that we are not subjected to undue pressure. We are still waiting for that to be addressed. Many say that if reforms don’t happen under this government, they may never happen. We are doing our utmost to seize this opportunity.”

At the press conference, the IGP was also asked how the police can avoid being used as a political tool in the future, especially under an elected government. In response, he said, “Ultimately, the country will be governed by political leaders. They are, of course, the most intelligent. We trust their leadership.”

When the IGP’s attention was drawn to the DMP Commissioner’s statement that there’s no terrorists in Bangladesh; dramas were staged in the past, he said, “None can guarantee that there is no terrorist in the country. Police is one of the main agencies to work against terrorism. Other agencies are also working here. Many served in the jail on allegations of terrorism. We all know the history of JMB in 2005. We’re always aware.”

The police chief was also asked about “mob justice”. He said this has to be prevented socially. Everyone in the society has to raise their voices so that this does not happen again. Maybe they would not have taken the law into their own hands if they had complete trust in the police.

He further said they have been trying to regain people’s trust so that this realisation grows among them that the police will work.

Many of the police officials who opened fire or ordered to fire on the protesters during the July mass uprising are on the run.

When the IGP was asked about advancements made to bring them back to the country, he said, “We may inform the Interpol  about the crimes of the officials and request to help us bring them back. Interpol sends its notice, which is called a ‘red notice’, to all the member states. We have started this process.”

The IGP could not say how many police officials ordered their subordinates to open fire during the mass uprising.

He said nearly 1,500 lawsuits have been filed in connection with the July movement. Of those, 600 were filed on murder charges. Maybe we could say the number of officials ordered firing the bullets once the investigation of all the cases is completed.

Speaking about the shortage of police vehicles, the IGP said the number of police vehicles has not increased even by one after 5 August. The procurement process is underway but it takes time to complete a government task.

According to him, for the first time, the police will get 200 pick-ups. Nearly 405 police vehicles have been burned. The force will have work in this situation for some more days.

Speaking about curtailing the Police Week activities, the IGP said the Police Week will begin through the Chief Adviser’s speech. The Police Week this time will be observed unceremoniously.

Baharul Alam told the media that instead of celebrating the Police Week ostentatiously, this time the members will discuss professional issues, will assess the force’s past activities, find out their past mistakes and plan for the future.

IGP said, “I congratulate the people on the eve of the Police Week. We serve them. I want to tell people to help us find our mistakes. I want to say another thing, sometimes we face illicit requests. Those are like - please transfer this member, release that member, confer medal to that police member. I request the people to come with a lesser number of such illegal requests so that I can run the police force complying with the regulations.”