An unprecedented mass transfer has taken place in Cox’s Bazar following an extrajudicial killing. We have talked to three former Inspector Generals of Police (IGP) about the matter. None of them considered this mass transfer as a positive sign.
Two former IGPs think this may send a wrong message to the police administration as a few persons committed crime, but the whole district police have been held accountable before the nation. Transfer of about 1,500 members of police at a time is rare. The impact is not less on the family and social life of the transferred law enforcers. The school and college goers of these families will have to face additional hardship due to this amid the pandemic.
The two former IGPs rightly assess that such a step in no way meets the requirement of the rule of law. There is no doubt that the mass transfer took place following drug trades and its spread in Cox’s Bazar, crossfires and the serious allegations raised against the police force after the death of a retired army officer in police firing. Through this mass transfer, some accused members of the police force are acquitted when the victims are unlikely to get justice. Those who are honest and professional have ultimately been reprimanded . It is against the principle of nurturing the good and suppressing the evil.
A former IGP, however, said there might be some consolation if there was a ‘slight of benefit’ through this mass transfer. But the action taken in Cox’s Bazar is abnormal and ambiguous. There is no logical reason for its positive impact. To divert the attention from the accused public servants, ‘the transfer’ and the formation of departmental ‘probe committee’ are being used as an armour for long. This incident proves that a serious institutionalisation of this trend has taken place.
No police member, historically, serves in his own district. This has been prohibited by the 1861 Police Act. The aim of the provision is to prevent the possibility of nepotism, biasness or being considered as a threat to social opponents. Although Pradeep Kumar Das, accused of being involved in major Sihnha’s killing, did not serve in his own district, he spends most of his career in Chattogram division. He has easily been able to build relations of interest with various quarters there.
Former IGP Nurul Huda rightly views that the transfers will not work unless the ‘reasons’ behind them are not eliminated. But who will do that? Killing of major Sinha manifested that Pradeep Kumar became an expert in extrajudicial killings. The state rewarded for his ‘achievement’. The transfer of about 1,500 policemen is supposed to be a relief for Pradeep and his accomplices. They are no longer isolated as the list of suspects is long.
The deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar confirmed on Monday that the district administration is not still informed of the content of the report prepared by the four-member probe committee over the killing of major Sinha. We immediately expect the findings of the investigation and the charge sheet by the Rapid Action Battalion. The recurrence of the attempt to divert public attention like mass transfer should be stopped. Let the law enforcement members be promoted on the basis of integrity and merit. Let policies be introduced for transparent and disciplined transfer and halting of extrajudicial killing.