Police draw criticism after launching website to document July uprising violence 

The Bangladesh Police has come under heavy criticism from netizens after launching a website to collect evidence of violent incidents, including attacks, killings, and shootings, that took place during the student-led July uprising in 2024.

The initiative, announced today via a post on Bangladesh Police's Facebook page, calls on citizens to upload still images or footage captured by personal mobile phones or cameras between 1 July and 5 August, 2024, to the website: andolonerchobi.police.gov.bd.

The post further said the website was set up to gather crucial digital proof of the events that unfolded during the protests.

However, the move sparked outrage on social media, with many questioning the timing and intent of the call for submissions.

Several comments on the post pointed out the delayed response in addressing the violence, with one Facebook user saying, "After seven or eight months, now you all stand for justice, whereas this should have been done within a month of the killings." 

Another commented, "I will never forget the strikes from the police's batons. I will always remember those moments of brutality during the days of internet blackout."

Addressing police, one netizen said, "There were millions of CCTV cameras on the streets, controlled by the government and the police. Retrieve those recordings." 

In the announcement, it was stated that submissions would be limited to one image or video per hour, with a maximum of five uploads per day per mobile number. Before uploading, users must verify their identity by entering a one-time password (OTP) sent to their phone.

Access to uploaded materials will require login credentials linked to the uploader's phone number.

Netizens raised concerns over privacy, questioning the process. One Facebook user wrote, "Why do you need a mobile number? Are you keeping a list of those who provide footage? How can we trust so easily? The killing of unarmed children and teenagers is not a thing of the distant past…"

The website will be open for submissions from 11-25 February as part of an effort to collect and document evidence of the incidents that transpired during the protests.

Visiting the website, two other guidelines were found – the maximum size of an uploaded file can be 400MB and there is no option to delete the uploaded files.

The website has fields for title, the type of incident, date, time and duration. It has fields to pinpoint the location of the incident with a separate box to give additional description about the location.

Under the type of incident field, uploaders can choose from a variety of options, including baton charge and attack on general people and students, attacks by Awami League, arson, rape, looting, murder, domestic violence, etc.

The field has separate categories for firing by the Army and BGB, and also has a category that mentions attacks of police and police stations. Interestingly, there is so far no category for shooting by police.   

"You've explained everything," a user commented,  "but you haven't mentioned what steps you'll take after receiving these images."