Police asked to monitor <i>khutbah</i>
Police across the country have been directed to monitor whether the khatib (who leads the Jumma prayers) of the mosques deliver khutbah (the speech before the prayers) in favour of militancy or against it.
Talking to The Daily Star, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker said the field-level policemen have been asked to monitor the khutbah as part of the decision of the National Committee on Militancy Resistance and Prevention.
The directives came from a two-day-long quarterly conference of Bangladesh police held at the police headquarters where the law enforcers opined that cases in connection with women repression, assault on law enforcers and drugs have increased.
The IGP said police officials were also asked to hold discussion with the Khatib to educate the devotees that there is no room of militancy in Islam.
High officials of police took part in the conference that ended yesterday.
The meeting sources said assaults on the law enforcers have increased during violence and other times due to lack of inadequate protective measures.
Besides, district level senior police officials opined that although the number of cases in connection with women repression has increased, most of the cases are filed with false charges for harassing the opponents of the plaintiffs.
Noakhali district Superintendent of Police (SP) Harun-ur-Rashid Hazaree said a total of 794 cases were filed with different police stations in the district during 2011 in connection with women repression, but police had to press final reports in around 64 per cent cases as they did not found any proof.
“Mostly the cases were filed to harass the opponents of the plaintiffs,” the SP added.
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