When protectors turn perpetrators

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Shamsul Huq Zahid
'Police jhakhan dakat' (when police become robbers) was the headline of the report published in a couple of Bengali newspapers Tuesday on the alleged robbery committed by three policemen in Chittagong Sunday night.
That particular headline coined by the newspapers was a bit allegorical. The journalists concerned wanted to make it closer to the titles of a few local Bengali films such as 'Baba jhakhan chakar' (when father is a servant).
That particular headline might have amused the readers at the first instance. But a close scrutiny would reveal that it was an appropriate and serious headline. For it provoked a few questions about the safety and security of the citizens. What can the people do when the police, who are meant for protecting them from criminals of all sorts, become tormentors? They have nothing to do except for resigning themselves to fate.
Commission of robbery by the people in uniform is nothing unusual. On several occasions in the past, law enforcing personnel were found involved in mugging, robbery and other criminal activities. There are recorded as well unrecorded incidents. Some such personnel lost their jobs and were put behind the bar and some were acquitted for non-availability of sufficient evidence.
But the involvement of a police officer in the rank of an assistant police commissioner in the Chittagong incident has dwarfed the previous incidents and caused a serious damage to the police image, which, however, has never been that bright. For next few days, some people might tend to look at police officials with contempt.
The high police officials following the 1/11 changeover have been talking about better police-public relationship. And this end in view, the police administration has established one-stop desks at the police stations where the aggrieved people can record their complaints without hassles.
There is no denying that the law and order situation improved to some extent during the initial months of the present caretaker government. The police were found to be attentive to their duties and less demanding than before. But the situation has changed in recent months with policemen, in many cases, taking up their old habits.
However, at the end of the 14th meeting of the advisory council committee on law and order held in the first week of the current month, the additional secretary of the ministry of home affairs claimed that the law and order situation had improved than before. But he admitted that the incidents of highway robbery, theft of motor cars and activities of the 'aggyan' parties had been on the rise.
The incidents of murder, robbery and mugging have also recorded a marked rise in recent months. The drug peddlers are very much active again in different parts of the city' allegedly, with tacit approval of the local police stations. The police, apparently, are not that interested in putting up their transformed and friendly faces to the people. One can verify the veracity of the observation if one pays a visit to any police station. Filing a case or making a general diary, to some extent, is hassle-free but not toll-free. According to a report published in a Bengali daily recently, on-duty officers at many police stations in Dhaka city are demanding 'Bakshis'.
Another area--traffic management-in Dhaka city has, of late, has become a symbol of poor police work. In absence of proper supervision, traffic movement has become erratic and hazardous. The incidents of death due to road accidents declined to almost to zero in Dhaka until recently. But people are now getting killed on the streets under the wheels of speeding buses that give a damn to traffic laws and rules.
True, the police personnel have to work under stress and strain. And the compensation package they are receiving at the end of the month is inadequate compared to the service they are asked to give to the citizens. But does it anyway justify their becoming robbers?
Despite all the shortcomings, the people facing threats to their safety and security are still seeking the help of the police who are meant to protect the innocent and punish the perpetrators. What else the people can do? They do not have any other alternative.
The authorities concerned should give a serious look into problems relating to perks and privileges of the police and address the same as far as possible. While doing so, departmental actions against errant policemen need to be made tougher. Besides, the recruitment of police both at the lower and higher level deserves streamlining to help induction of people having good social and family background.