The police high-ups yesterday decided that there would be no more civil teams in any police station.

But in case of special drives, law enforcers can conduct plain-clothes operations after informing the SP, DC and OC concerned.

During any plain-clothes drive, the law enforcers have been instructed to keep their identity cards with them so that they can prove their identities when asked.

The instructions came at the trimonthly crime review meeting held at the police headquarters in the capital. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker chaired the meeting. Police commissioners of all metropolitan areas, deputy inspector generals of all ranges and chiefs of all police units, including the Rapid Action Battalion, were present there.

The recent incidents of abduction dominated the discussion, meeting sources said.

The IGP instructed top police officials to prevent abduction with utmost sincerity and find out the reasons behind all abduction-related incidents.

The meeting observed that as the police were busy containing political unrest last year, the pace of investigations into different cases, including the abduction, slowed down.

So, ultimately no action was taken against the offenders.

The IGP also said the Supreme Court might deliver the verdict any day on the appeal of Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee in a war crimes case. He instructed the policemen to remain on high alert particularly in the Jamaat-dominated districts to thwart any possible violence following the announcement of the verdict.

Some officials, present in the meeting, demanded additional forces and other equipment to prevent any violence.

They observed that police had failed to contain anarchy created by Jamaat activists after the war crimes tribunal handed down death penalty to Sayedee.

The meeting also discussed that instructions had been given to vehicle owners to remove tinted glasses from their vehicles by the 10th of this month.

A crime statistics, presented at the meeting, shows that the number of crimes has gone down during January-March period, comparing to three months between October and December last year.