Police can't magically control law and order: IGP
Police cannot magically control the country's law and order situation given the situation the force is trying to make a comeback from, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam has said.
"Everyone knows from where police are trying to make a comeback. We do not have any magic spells to prevent theft, mugging, and murders across the country. We want the cooperation of the students. We need to resist collectively," he said while talking to reporters after the annual general meeting of the Retired Police Officers' Welfare Association at the capital's Rajarbagh Police Lines.
Replying to a query from reporters, he said police have addressed and solved all the threats made to the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
Speaking at the same event, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali said the huge loss of lives during the mass uprising led by students would not have happened if police had taken the right decision even 72 hours before 5 August.
"Lives of many police members could have been saved too," he added.
The DMP chief expressed embarrassment regarding the police's actions during the July-August uprising and said the force would have to earn back its lost image through service.
"I feel ashamed to identify myself as a police official. I have not been able to come out of the trauma yet. Police officials will have to provide services to people properly if they want to come out of it," he said.
He continued, "There is no use if police officials earn law or doctorate degrees and do not use them for the force's activities. The police associations also could not play proper roles during the uprising. This has to be kept in mind in the future."