Bangladesh News

Chiefs of police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday made public announcements promising to make sure that the upcoming elections are unfettered by hooliganism and use of illegal firearms.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad said the existing law and order situation does not require special drives against criminals and illegal arms as criminal activities and the use of illegal arms ‘are currently not that prevalent’.

He however added, special drives will be carried out if necessary, but those will be launched unannounced.

Rab Director General Hasan Mahmood Khandakar said his force will take special security measures ahead of the polls, so criminals may not disrupt the electoral environment.

Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Naim Ahmed said they will put a four-tier security measure in place along with deployment of additional forces for the elections.

The chiefs of police and Rab made their commitments public at an event at Rab-1 headquarters in Uttara of the capital where seized illegal narcotics were destroyed, while the DMP commissioner made the commitment at the monthly crime conference in Rajarbagh Police Lines Telecom Auditorium.

The IGP said police will take special initiatives against the goons for hire ahead of the general election if necessary.

Speaking as the chief guest at the narcotics destructing event, the IGP said proper and strict implementation of the country’s existing laws is enough to combat illicit drug trade and other criminal activities.

The law enforcing agencies incinerated a huge quantity of illicit narcotics worth over

Tk 2 crore seized in the last 2 to 3 months.

The elite battalion yesterday destroyed 252.8 litres of banned Indian cough syrup Phensidyl contained in 42,488 bottles, around 300 kilograms of cannabis, and over 1.5 lakh Yaba tablets.

The IGP said everybody must work together to route illegal drugs from the country as the law enforcers cannot do it alone.

Terming the country’s legal procedures too lengthy, Nur Mohammad said due to loopholes in the legal system, many notorious drug traders and criminals came out of jails on bail.

“Now the time has come to rethink the problem,” said the IGP, who recently earned the ire of higher authorities for his comments about delays in promulgating the proposed police ordinance.

Rab DG Hasan Mahmood Khandakar said his force will take all necessary measures to ensure law and order during the elections, and the public will be informed about that through the media at a suitable time.

Many prominent individuals including movie star Razzak and singer Fahmida Nabi also spoke.

Meanwhile, DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed said the chief adviser already ordered the police to put in place necessary security measures to ensure the safety of voters and for smooth voting.

He said striking forces will be deployed to ensure security at several polling centres. Such ready-to-act forces will also be kept stand by at the police control room, he added.

“Strict actions will be taken against any element trying to obstruct the elections,” Naim said.

Replying to a question, the DMP commissioner said he does not see any possibility of terrorist activities on the eve of the elections, but added that the intelligence agencies will nonetheless step up their watch.