No one can take law into their own hands, said Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury regarding the mob lynching of a Chhatra League leader yesterday (18 September).
Public awareness is key to dealing with the practice of mob justice, said the adviser while speaking to media following a meeting with police high-ups at the DMP Headquarters around 11:30am today (19 September).
He said, ” They [those involved in mob justice at JU] are the most educated section of society. No one can take the law into their own hands. This is why public awareness is needed on this issue.”
Regarding the police force Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said he directed Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to revitalise the police force alongside solving the issue of extortion and traffic mismanagement.
When asked about the meeting agenda, the adviser said a discussion was held on how police could get back their lost glory and return to their humane character once again.
“People often go to police stations for various needs but the police cannot always fulfill their needs. Although it is not possible to accomplish the tasks all the time, I have told police members to patiently hear them out,” the adviser said.
The adviser added that today’s main discussion was on how to turn the police into a people-friendly force.
“We have discussed how the traffic situation can be improved. Besides, the issue of extortion was also talked about. The prices of essentials will come down if extortion can be stopped. At today’s meeting, our focus was on how to stop corruption in the police force,” the adviser added.
While talking to journalists, the adviser claimed that the police are not involved in implicating people in false cases anymore.
“In the past, police used to name 10 people and make hundreds of others accused in a case. They don’t do it anymore. It’s the people who have filed the cases that are in question,” the adviser said.
Urging people to implicate only those who are responsible for crimes, the adviser said that it will take more time for police to investigate a matter if cases are filed on a mass scale.
“When there are a lot of cases, the innocent people suffer. This is why we have told police not to arrest anyone without proper investigation so that the ordinary people are not harassed,” the adviser added.
