Police foil photo show on crossfire
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
FE Report
Police Monday shut down the Drik Gallery at Dhanmondi in the capital minutes before the opening of a photo exhibition on extra-judicial killings by the law enforcers.
Witnesses said over a dozen of police personnel forced the authorities of the gallery to close the exhibition at 4:00pm. Visitors remained trapped inside the hall because of heavy police presence.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dhanmondi police station Shah Alam told the FE that they intervened as the management of one of the country's prominent galleries was going ahead with the exhibition ignoring a DMP ban.
The OC further said the DMP had taken the decision saying that the show might create unrest in the country.
Shahidul Alam, the photographer and managing director of the gallery, said, "A police officer came to my office and asked us to stop the exhibition on the plea that it will cause civil unrest in the country."
"Its unfair as police could not produce any warrant, court order or any executive order at the time," he said.
The move came at a time when human rights organisations at home and abroad have been protesting against the strategy taken by the law enforcers in the name of rooting out terrorism from the country.
They also urged the government to stop such killings for the sake of establishing rule of law in the country.
Police Monday shut down the Drik Gallery at Dhanmondi in the capital minutes before the opening of a photo exhibition on extra-judicial killings by the law enforcers.
Witnesses said over a dozen of police personnel forced the authorities of the gallery to close the exhibition at 4:00pm. Visitors remained trapped inside the hall because of heavy police presence.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dhanmondi police station Shah Alam told the FE that they intervened as the management of one of the country's prominent galleries was going ahead with the exhibition ignoring a DMP ban.
The OC further said the DMP had taken the decision saying that the show might create unrest in the country.
Shahidul Alam, the photographer and managing director of the gallery, said, "A police officer came to my office and asked us to stop the exhibition on the plea that it will cause civil unrest in the country."
"Its unfair as police could not produce any warrant, court order or any executive order at the time," he said.
The move came at a time when human rights organisations at home and abroad have been protesting against the strategy taken by the law enforcers in the name of rooting out terrorism from the country.
They also urged the government to stop such killings for the sake of establishing rule of law in the country.