A woman, wife of a slain police officer, holding a child on her lap attends a programme organised by Bangladesh Police at police headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday. — New Age photo
Inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Hoque on Sunday criticised a section of political leaders, terming their comments questioning the ‘anti-extremist raids’ ‘irresponsible’ and ‘encouraging for extremism.’
The police chief made the comment after over two weeks of a comment made by opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia in a statement on March 28 expressing doubts about the anti-extremist drives.
The IGP had been addressing a ceremony at the police headquarters in the capital to distribute financial help among families of slain and injured police personnel during recent anti-extremist raids across the country.
‘In recent times, we have noticed some political leaders’ irresponsible comments. Bangladesh Police and country people have rejected such ill-motive of questioning the anti-extremist raids by brave members of Bangladesh Police,’ the IGP said.
‘Such comments by responsible person or organisation would encourage extremism,’ he said and requested the quarters to behave responsibly.
Shahidul termed the comments false, baseless, imaginary and ill-motivated. ‘Such controversial comments were unfortunate and condemnable when the brave police members were fighting for the sake of the country at the cost of their lives.’
He asked those having suspicion about the anti-extremist raids to come to police to get knowledge about the operations and assured that police would explain the raids with ‘100 per cent accountability and transparency.’
The police boss said that the anti-extremist operations were on and would continue and urged those already in the path of extremism to come back to normal life.
Earlier, the IGP handed checks for Tk 24 lakh to each of families of slain inspectors Chowdhury Mohammad Abu Kaisar and Mohammad Monirul Islam who were killed during anti-extremist operation in Sylhet in late March.
Seven other police personnel who were injured during different recent raids were also given financial assistance.
The BNP chairperson, in her March 28 statement after army-led anti-extremism operation at Atia Mahal in Sylhet city, had said, ‘the sudden rise in extremism in the present sensitive times and the lack of transparency in the anti-extremist drives raised questions and created doubts in the public minds.’
Some other BNP leaders, since the Kalyanpur anti-extremist raid that killed nine suspected extremists on July 26, 2016, on different occasions, also expressed their doubts about law-enforcing agencies’ transparency about the anti-extremist operations.
Source: New Age
