Police brutality clip surfaces

A video clip of police brutality on a young girl went viral on the social media yesterday.

In the video footage, with the boundary wall of the Bangabhaban in the background, a member of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) was repeatedly slapping the girl in her face while another of his colleagues was trying to drag her from the median of the road to its side.  

The brutal assault on the girl, barefooted and seemingly in her adolescent age, caused quite an uproar in the social media. However, the identity of the person who recorded or uploaded the nearly 30-second video clip could not be known.

A member of traffic police, also in the scene, was unsuccessfully trying to move away the black duffel bag the girl was carrying. At one stage the policeman (who was trying to drag the girl) took notice of the incident being filmed and furiously approached the person behind the camera.

He along with several other onlooker members of the law enforcers appeared to be engaged in a scuffle with him while they tried to snatch his device.   

Contacted, Mohammed Siraj Amin, additional deputy commissioner of DMP's Protection Division, said they have learnt that the incident took place moments before the president was about to get out of the Bangabhaban to attend a programme in Jessore. “The way the matter was dealt with, wasn't appropriate. We're trying to identify the policemen discharging duties on the spot at the time,” he said, adding that they would take action against the responsible law enforcers.