Ruling parties considers police as their own property: Ex-IGP

Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque has said political force and bureaucracy in Bangladesh will never want a change in police.

"The ruling parties think that police is their own property. Police will do whatever the ruling party wishes. A member of parliament usually wants the OC in his constituency to do whatever he says. It is very difficult to deal with these challenges and adversities. However, police must have to work impartially staying above all controversies," he said.

Shahidul Haque was speaking at a function arranged to unveil the cover page of his autobiography – "Police Jiboner Smriti: Sairacar Patan Theke Jangi Daman" (Memunveiling ories of Police Life: From the Fall of Autocracy to Suppress Militants) at Sufia Kamal Auditorium of the National Museum in Dhaka on Saturday.  

University Press Limited published the book while Rakhal Raha edited it.

The former IGP expressed the hope that the autobiography written by him from his long 32 years of working experiences would be evaluated as a document.

"I did not bow to any political evil," he said, adding, "I did not work aiming at holding any certain chair. Whenever I got transferred, I left the previous office to join the new one."

Shahidul Haque said he did not hesitate to take action against the leaders and activists of ruling party while he was in office. "Not everyone can be like me. Therefore, I think there should be a system so that police can work neutrally."

The former IGP said, "Police is a part of the judiciary. If they cannot function independently, the criminal justice system will never work. A proper investigation is not possible if police cannot act impartially."

Referring to the massive reform of police, he said it is a 'political statement' as he does not know how the entire policing could be overhauled.  

However, the former police chief said, "Legal reform is a must if police are to act independently."

"I took the initiative when I was in office, but it did not work out. I proposed forming a Police Commission as well as a Police Complaint Commission. If there is a complaint against police, it will be investigated by an independent body. But that did not happen because of the bureaucrats."

"Politicians certainly will not support any such initiatives. If the mindset of politicians and bureaucrats does not change, the good governance will remain a far cry," he added.

Noting that police are to work in a "very hostile situation", he said, "Everyone wants the services of police, but no one likes them."

"They are afraid of police. They do not consider police as truly good persons. I wrote in my book that we don't feel the oxygen since we live in it. Similarly, we don't feel the need for police since we already have them in society. If the government announces that there will be no policing for two hours, we can't anticipate what the scenario would look like then," he added.

Chaired by author and Bangla Academy president Selina Hossain, the function was attended by Dhaka University professor Dr Syed Manzurul Islam, Prime Minister's former secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and former Inspector General of Police Mohammad Nurul Huda.

In her observation, Selina Hossain said though Shahidul Islam is not a professional author, his writing style and presentation are very excellent. "I think that this book should reach all kinds of readers in our society. This autobiography will equally be welcomed not only by the police personnel but also general readers," she said.