FROM PAGE 16

night and yesterday.

The new IGP is a BCS 12th batch officer. Before becoming IGP, he served as the commandant of the Traffic and Driving School. He is from Panchagarh.

Additional IGP AKM Shahidur Rahman, also a 12th BCS police cadre officer, was serving in the police headquarters. He is from Barishal. Mainul Hasan who is from Kishoreganj and is a 17th BCS Batch officer was serving in the Criminal Investigation Department.

The changes came days after Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign as the prime minister and fled the country amid an unprecedented mass upsurge following student protests that saw over 400 people (as far as this newspaper could confirm) killed in violent clashes since July 16. Many of the deaths have been blamed on the indiscriminate firing of police, Rab and BGB to quell the protest.

Since the ouster, many police establishments came under attack by angry mobs across the country that left dozens of policemen killed, leaving the force’s chain of command in disarray. The attacks also forced many policemen to flee for safety leaving their routine work and police establishments unguarded.

The newly appointed IGP yesterday instructed all policemen to return to their respective police lines, offices, and barracks to manage public order in the next 24 hours.

The IGP said many police officials were killed, injured and tortured because of some unprofessional and overly ambitious officials who did not follow the accepted principles of applying force and violated human rights.

Meanwhile, lower-ranked police personnel from constables to inspectors staged separate demonstrations at Dampara Police Lines in Chattogram yesterday and Barishal Police Lines on Tuesday afternoon. They also announced work abstention until their 11-point demand including the safety of every member of the police is ensured.

They brought out processions and held rallies demanding realisation of their demands which also included bringing those involved in the killings of police members to justice, forming an independent police commission to ensure that any political party cannot use police to implement its political agenda, ensuring eight hour working hours, increasing risk allowance, and the appointment of sergeant and sub-inspector through public service commission.

During the demonstration in Barishal, the agitating policemen said that they were the victims of some corrupt police officers and wanted those officials to be removed from the force.

In a written statement, the demonstrating policemen pointed out that the chain of command of police has broken down. “Our guardians (superiors) went into hiding abandoning us, leaving us insecure. The houses of the police forces are also being attacked. Many members of the police force have been brutally killed,” it reads.

During a briefing yesterday, the IGP issued a warning to policemen on using social media, “I am directing my colleagues at all levels to refrain from making any demand, comment or reply through any kind of personal, association, batch, association on social media.”