Police were never used politically: DMP chief

Outgoing Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia yesterday said police were never used politically.

“The claim that police were used politically is not backed by evidence, and those who say this have ill motives,” said the DMP chief while talking to journalists.

Asaduzzaman said police take lawful and strict actions against people blocking roads, setting public transports on fire and damaging public property.

“If anyone terms this lawful action as politically motivated, that’s unjust,” he said, adding that the aim of to tarnish the image of the force.

Referring to the 2018 national election, Asaduzzaman said, “We tried our best to ease the panic. We have successfully ensured maximum security during the election.”

He was addressing reporters at a “meet the press” programme in DMP media center, marking the end of his tenure. He joined as DMP commissioner on January 7, 2015 and is going on retirement on August 13.

Regarding taking action against dishonest officials, Asaduzzaman said there is corruption in every sector and they have tried their best to serve the public -- initiating several steps.

“During my tenure, arrest without warrant was almost zero and no public transport was taken on requisition,” he claimed.

Saying that police officials who were found involved in unlawful activities faced just punishment, he said they not only took departmental but also legal action in many cases.

“We have tried to bring about change; we are not saying we are one hundred percent successful,” said the outgoing DMP chief.

Asaduzzaman said that he has taken many initiatives like introducing citizen information database service, beat policing [assigning an official for each area] in every police station to take the service door-to-door, printed general diary form and electronic traffic prosecution system so that people can pay the penalty fee digitally.

“We have had tremendous success in combating militancy and ensuring security at national and international events,” said Asaduzzaman.

The DMP boss, however, said they have not been able to fully provide people-oriented service at police stations. “We have brought changes but there is still a lot of work to do in that regard.”

Asaduzzaman further said that he has another failure:  traffic management.

“I was not able to free Dhaka of severe traffic congestion. But I alone am not accountable for this failure, as many other organisations are involved.”

Another major reason behind it is the culture of violating law, he said. Driving on the wrong side and ignoring traffic signals are common examples, he added.

DMP additional commissioners Monirul Islam, Mir Rezaul Alam, Krishno Pada Roy, Abdul Baten and other high officials were present at the programme.