Harassment in the name of inspection

A few days ago, I was returning from Khulna to Dhaka by bus. When I reached Gabtali, suddenly an ununiformed man claiming to be a police officer started to pull my luggage, saying he wanted to search it. He was not a cop, but a “source.” Beside him was a police constable, who however remained silent. Within a few minutes, the man forced me to open my luggage. I told him that he was trying to put a yaba tablet or marijuana in my luggage so that the police could later arrest me and extort money. Hearing that, the man retreated.

Later, a CNG driver told me that it was a common phenomenon in Gabtali after 10 pm. These so-called sources, under the auspices of local police, harass passengers and extort money at will. I would like to urge the authorities to take steps to tackle this issue.

Nazrul Islam, By e-mail