Staff Reporter:
National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Organizer (Southern Region) and Cumilla-4 MP Hasnat Abdullah on Monday criticized Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Hossain Fakir over his remarks on crossfire, accusing him of speaking like a thug and urging police to remain neutral.
“This government-appointed IGP is a thug. Like in the fascist era, he is now threatening crossfire. Let us see what action the government takes against him,” Hasnat said at an NCP public outreach programme in Mugda in the capital in the afternoon.
He said the IGP’s remarks are ecoming of a police force meant to serve the people, comparing him with former IGP Benazir Ahmed and former Detective Branch chief Harun Or Rashid, who served during the Awami League government.
Hasnat also warned police against serving the interests of political leaders, saying, “You are not the home minister’s police, nor the prime minister’s police. The uniform you wear is bought with the people’s taxes. Do not forget that. Neither the home minister in Eskaton nor the prime minister in Gulshan will protect you. The people will.”
Urging the police and administration to remain neutral in the upcoming local government elections, he said they should not work for any political party, be it the BNP, NCP or Jamaat. “Work for the people. Maintain utmost integrity to ensure a fair election,” he said.
The NCP leader claimed that people are now regretting voting for the BNP, referring to an incident in Mymensingh in which a woman allegedly went live on social media and hit herself with a shoe to express remorse for voting for the party.
He criticised the woman’s arrest and demanded her immediate release. “The home minister has unjustly arrested her. She must be released.”
Hasnat also raised the case of Miraj Sheikh, who has reportedly been missing in Mongla for more than six months.
“The home minister’s Coast Guard picked him up and there has been no trace of him since then. The government must answer where Mongla’s Miraj is,” he said.
Expressing doubts about the upcoming local government elections, the NCP leader alleged that the BNP is plotting to derail the polls. “We cannot trust the present government and administration,” he said.
Seeking votes for NCP-nominated Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral candidate Nasiruddin Patwary, he said, “Nasiruddin will be the people’s mayor, the mayor of their hearts.”
Hasnat also accused the BNP government of nepotism in fertiliser dealership appointments and criticised what he described as an ongoing “syndicate” in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market.
While addressing a programme in the capital on Monday, IGP Ali Hossain said police might resort to crossfire if the government allows it and it becomes necessary to maintain law and order and curb crimes.
