6 days following the uprising to have toppled the Sheikh Hasina administration, the country's main law enforcement agency, the police have not yet resumed their full duties to ensure public security.
According to Police Headquarters sources, 538 out of 639 police stations in the country partially resumed operations with assistance of the armed forces, Ansar and Border Guard Bangladesh. And most police stations are operating by merely recording general diaries, handling internal tasks, while others remaining largely empty as policemen have been reportedly leaving after just marking their attendance.
Undeniably, it is an unprecedented as well as unexpected event in Bangladesh's history. The country's law & order situation has crumbled down in many places. Incidence of rampant robbery has shot up while forcing different localities to introduce voluntary community policing. The country's overall crime rate is also on the rise.
Nevertheless, it is only agonizingly true that though police stations are gradually opening but most policemen are refraining from going to the field out of fear of violent reprisals from the public as many of them reportedly opened fire, indiscriminately killing and injuring scores of protesters during the recently ended countrywide unrest. That said - it is imperative to identify corrupt and rogue policemen and separate them from the force and reprimand them in exemplary manner.
Similar to deaths of hundreds of student protesters, some 20 policemen across the country have reportedly been killed while over a hundred injured.
The situation has turned such toxic that police and civilians are often considering each other as arch rivals.
Such undesirable animosity must end.
While the public demand is that the interim government should primarily focus on restoring law and order - it is practically impossible without the police to do so.
However, the collective grudge of our police force members for being exploited and used as a political force is also being voiced and ventilated with indescribable anger and grievances. Amid the chaos, the police top-brass also went through a major re-shuffling.
We believe now is the befitting time for the police to engage with meaningful dialogues with citizens and students' community, resolve all disputes and re-emerge as a pro-people force in expectation with the country's people.
Our Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leaders, armed forces members, political leaders to journalists to civil society members - we urge all to participate and play an effective role in holding dialogue sessions.
We have often penned on initiating long-term reforms within our police institution, and as it is not possible overnight, it is surely possible to commence the process. But need of the hour demands police resumes its full-fledged duties across the country.
Rebuilding people's trust on the police force as a whole is crucial for the country's progress.
