DMP prepares list of root-level opposition leaders
BNP and other parties said the list is aimed at suppressing the oppositions, arresting their leaders and accusing them in different cases before the parliamentary polls
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has taken an initiative to prepare a list of leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other oppositions in the capital. They will also note detailed information about the political personalities, including name, address, party designation, and contact number.
According to sources, the list is being prepared for the upcoming (12th) Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) elections. But the police claimed that they took the initiative to thwart sabotage activities in the name of anti-government movement and take legal action immediately after any untoward incident.
However, BNP and other parties said the list is aimed at suppressing the oppositions, arresting their leaders and accusing them in different cases before the parliamentary polls.
Many deceased and migrant leaders of the opposition parties were accused in sabotage cases before the previous parliamentary polls in 2018
Several DMP officials said the list is being prepared with information of influential leaders of different political parties’ ward, thana and metropolitan committees. The BNP men are getting priority as a major party of Bangladesh. The police are also collecting information about other political parties in advance.
A field level DMP official, on condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo that many deceased and migrant leaders of the opposition parties were accused in sabotage cases before the previous parliamentary polls in 2018.
The police had to deal with a lot of criticism following the reports. If a list of opposition leaders with the updated information on their designation and contact number is preserved at the police station, such mistakes can easily be avoided, he said.
The police stations generally preserve lists of political leaders of the localities concerned. Now, the lists are being updated, added the official.
The people’s trust in police will decrease further if they made such a list to keep the incumbent government in power
AKM Hafiz Akter, additional commissioner of DMP, said the police have been asked to update information about the political leaders as the parties are having new committees.
DMP commissioner Shafiqul Islam, in a crime review meeting in July, directed the deputy commissioners (DC), additional deputy commissioners (ADC), assistant commissioners (AC), and officers-in-charge (OC) of eight crime divisions and detective branch (DB) to prepare the list of political leaders in the city.
According to the directive, the police will identify the political leaders of the city neighborhoods and collect detailed information about them in advance. Besides, the police stations will preserve the list of neighborhood-based political committees. The information includes name, political designation, and contact number.
Apart from this, they will prepare a list of mosques that the political parties use to bring out political and instigating processions.
BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the people’s trust in police will decrease further if they made such a list to keep the incumbent government in power.