Why we gave the police Chinese rifles

After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in face of the student-mass uprising on 5 August, the police system has been in dire straits. From the constables to the inspector general of police (IGP), everyone went into hiding. Why did this happen?

Baharul Alam: There is no precedence of this ever happening in the history of our country, and I doubt anywhere else in the world either. The fact that they abandoned their duty and left their posts indicates a general sense of fear in the entire police force. This fear had reached such a level that they were unable to come out into public. Some of them committed such atrocities in the past that they did not have the courage to face the rest of society. They felt that if they didn't go into hiding, they would come under attack. And indeed, they did come under attack from the infuriated public.

It has been a month and a half since the fall of the Awami League government and the police are still in dire straits. What needs to be done at this moment? How can normalcy be restored in the functioning of the police force?

Baharul Alam: After the Awami League government toppled from power, it had been imperative to remove the officers-in-charge (OC) at the police stations and those in other important positions, from their posts. This should have been done within 72 hours of the formation of the new government. This did happen in many posts, but not all.

If they were removed from their posts, there were an adequate number of officers to replace them from among the police force of 200,000 members. For example, there are 8 to 9 sets of inspectors for recruitment as OCs in 639 police stations. OCs could have been selected from among them.

It was essential to complete these postings and then set up a link between the newly posted members of the police and the rest of the society. There was need for a committee in every thana area to assist the police. These committees would comprise representatives of the students would were in the movement and of people from all walks of life.

It was also necessary for the police to admit their past wrongdoings to the committee and clear their present stance, sincerely pledge to serve the people and extend full cooperation to uphold law and order. Instead of doing that, the police remained silent for a month.

There has long been talk about reforms or reorganization of the police force. How far is that required?

Baharul Alam: During Pakistan times, a police reform commission headed by Major General Mittha Khan had been formed. In Bangladesh times, a police commission had been formed in 1988, headed by Justice Aminur Rahman. DIG M Azizul Huq was members secretary of the commission. Many politicians and the khatib of Baitul Mukarram mosque had been in that commission.

The police that were there in 1988 are no longer here in 2024. The trends in crime have changed and so has the method of operations in the force. The number of personnel in the force has increased. There have been technical and strategic advancements in the police. Many educated persons from various strata have joined the police, unlike before. So it will be easier to implement reforms with this workforce. But the fundamental question is whether those who run the country want such reforms or not.

The police are running in accordance to the 1861 law laid down by the British. The underlying objective of that law was to control the people. We have not changed that British law. We have made cosmetic changes to purportedly modernize the force in the name of community policing and so on. But cosmetic changes won’t change the police if the 1861 skin is still intact. There is need for reforms in the police force. But first the basic objectives of the reforms must be made clear. Mindsets need to be changed. The objective of the reforms will not be to control like the British, but to serve the people and protect their fundamental rights.

What is to be done for reforms? Can you offer some specifics?

Baharul Alam: First of all the police law has to be reformed. Many demands have also been raised by the people. Police must not be politicised. No longer should the party in power be able to use the police in their political interests.

Under the prevailing law, the government recruits the police. This must be changed and the police is to be run by a neutral independent commission. The commission will be in charge of recruiting the police and coming up with policy guidelines about how the force will operate. This will reduce the scope of the police being used politically.

Secondly, the police must be given certain powers to be able to exert force in order to protect people’s fundamental rights. And so another independent police complaint agency or commission will be required to investigate any allegations or complaints about police misdemeanours. Presently the police or the home ministry carries out these investigations. That is not right as it becomes biased.

Thirdly, if we want a modern police force, the police has to be humanitarian. The salient aspects of human rights must be given priority in police training. That is absent now. Their training is only about PT, parades and laws.

Fourthly, the police cannot be like other forces. Police’s work is with the people. They have to be a part of the society. The people should feel that the police are one of us. If not, why will the people go to the police? There is an “open house day” at the police stations, but only a select few attend. The common people do not have the courage to go to the police station. So the reforms must look into how people-friendly policing can be done.

The interim government says the police will be run by a police commission. Can you elaborate on this concept?

Baharul Alam: The concept of such a commission is the same in Sri Lanka, India, everywhere. The commission members will include members of the judiciary, intellectuals, journalists, writers, members of the ruling and opposition political parties. Now it must be determined whether the head of the commission will be the home minister or a justice or anyone else. A balance must also be struck in the commission so no one’s singular decision is prioritised.

Those who are in better knowledge of the laws pertaining to the formation of a police commission, must be given priority. A justice can be joined by a retired civil servant, social scientist or such a person in this regard.

The commission will make the important recruitments. At the end of the year  report on the police’s performance, its successes and failures will be presented to the nation through the parliament or the president.

You all have worked in various countries. Do you have any other recommendations for restructuring Bangladesh’s police based on that experience?

Baharul Alam: Bangladesh’s criminal investigation system is extremely complicated and long-winded. It takes years for the police to carry out investigations and submit their report to the court. That is because the colonial rulers would use the police but would not trust them. But in today’s circumstances, this needs to be reformed. Europe and America have modernised these areas significantly. The investigation process has been made much more concise. They do not have such lengthy and complex investigation methods.

Our police laws maintain that the police must respond at any time when summoned. According to the international labour laws, this cannot be so. It is not right to make a member of the police work on duty for more than eight hours a day. He must be paid overtime if these hours are exceeded. He must received one day off a week

A police force cannot be made humanitarian if they have to slog day after day, for hours on end with no day off. These matters must be given serious attention.

How do you see the manner in which police have used arms in suppressing the various political and non-political movements, including in 2024?

Baharul Alam: Policing is an exercise that is close to the society. There is no need for such a use of firearms. There can be a special armed force to tackle armed criminal gangs. There needs to be rethinking about what arms the police will carry, which police personnel will carry these arms, what arms will various units carry and so on.

We armed the police with Chinese rifles. We can rethink on whether these are required to control riots. Other than special units, there is no need for all of them to carry advanced firearms.

How do you see the image of the police that has emerged over the past 15 years?

Baharul Alam: From even beforehand the police had an image of working against the people. But this has gone to the extreme over the past 10 years. It has gone beyond any level of tolerance. That is why incidents have happened where people broke into the police stations and even killed the police. Police would take bribes before too, would resort to corruption and misdeeds. However, during the past regime the repression went to such an extent that the agitated people killed policemen in fury.

The question is whether it is only the rulers who are responsible for this predicament of the police. There are faults on both sides – those who used the police must take blame. But those who were used, cannot evade blame either.

The law maintains that the police will not obey unlawful orders of the senior officials. They will only obey lawful orders. But the fact of the matter is that if they do not obey the unlawful order, they will face changes and lose their jobs.

In Narayanganj and Barguna we saw two instances of the police not obeying unlawful orders of the seniors and protesting. But how many have that moral strength to do so?

Thank you.

Thank you too.