THE reported involvement of law enforcers in mugging in Dhaka underscores the significance of major police reform. Four people, including two Rapid Action Battalion and police personnel, were arrested on December 2 on charges of their being involved in mugging at the Dhaka airport. Allegations against a section of police personnel over involvement in crimes, including abduction, extortion, smuggling and mugging, have come up before but have largely remain unattended. There are allegations against the police that they demanded money from the arrested 鈥榯o settle legal matters鈥�, popularly referred to as arrest business. Official data show that at least 318 cases were filed against 304 police personnel and 79 were arrested in 2023. In 2022, 1,731 police personnel faced departmental action such as suspension or transfer for their involvement in crimes. It becomes evident that the mechanism to govern the moral conduct of the law enforcers has not been effective. The prime task at hand for the police reforms commission is, therefore, to suggest an effective oversight mechanism.
There are also allegations of major rights violations in the hands of law enforcers. In January鈥揓uly, as Ain O Salish Kendra says, at least eight individuals died in custody. The Australia-based Capital Punishment Justice Project reported at least 2,596 cases of extrajudicial killings in 2009鈥�2022. In the period, about 600 cases of enforced disappearance were reported. And, 100 victims are still missing. In 2013, the government enacted a law as part of its commitment to the Committee against Torture to prohibit torture or cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment or treatment of anyone in police custody and punish the perpetrators, but not many cases were filed. Since the enactment of the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013, only 18 cases have been filed against the police and 14 cases resulted in final reports, without framing any charges against the accused. The remaining cases remained stalled. A major pitfall of the custodial torture and death prevention legislation is that it expects the law enforcement agencies to investigate their own members which risks credible and impartial investigation. The continued failure of the government to address the criminality in the police has, therefore, contributed to a growing public distrust in the police.
The interim government has already taken a number of steps, but the main emphasis should be to ensure justice for all past abuses. An effective oversight mechanism should be developed to ensure that such abuses do not recur. An oversight mechanism alone, however, cannot improve the situation unless political parties abandon their tendencies to use the law enforcement units in partisan interests.