Who to call when police involved in extortion?

While allegations of extortion mostly arise against lower tier police personnel such as sub-inspector (SI) or officer-in-charge (OC), the higher ups, even SPs and DIGs, are directly or indirectly also involved in it, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Zillur Rahman has observed.  

If senior officers were not involved, the occurrence of extortion in the country would have reduced by almost half, he said at a seminar on "Prevention of Extortion in Bangladesh" organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Social Research (BISR) Trust yesterday.

Also, political leaders are equally responsible for not preventing extortion, he also said.

Presiding over the seminar, M Khurshed Alam, chairman of the BISR Trust said only 25% of victims of petty crimes including mugging, theft, or extortion, in the capital go to the police stations to file complaints. "We have surveyed 400 individuals in Dhaka and found the results."

For mugging, Khurshed said they have found that in police stations, victims were forced to file theft complaints instead of mugging.

Mamun Or Rashid, deputy commissioner (crime) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the police force was rendered ineffective after 5 August.

"However, the situation has now been successfully reorganised," he added.

Acknowledging that the mugging tendency was a little bit high in recent times, he said the police force has managed to identify the spots. "We have also increased our traditional police patrolling, and we are trying to bring the situation under control."

Nazmul Haque, former additional inspector general of police, said earlier police were encouraged to attack as it could bring them awards like the Bangladesh Police Medal or the President Police Medal. "Police attack or shoot at people as it can bring them awards."

He also claimed previously the top corrupt police officers were allocated the best postings, while the honest officers were either sidelined or sent home.

Saleh Akram, assistant professor at the University of Asia Pacific, questioned who the public can turn to for help when allegations of extortion often involve police officers themselves.  

He highlighted that extortion in Bangladesh impacts all sectors, driving up the prices of essential commodities and increasing transportation costs for ordinary citizens.