JS body raps DMP boss over Jamaat violence

The parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry yesterday lambasted Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed for what it said was the law enforcers' failure to tackle Monday's vandalism by the Jamaat-Shibir men.
It also asked the city police boss to take stern action against any such vandalism in future and to save public property.
The committee members at a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban said policemen seemed more active when teachers or other organisations held any demonstrations.
But they appeared helpless when the Jamaat-Shibir men perpetrated violence and damaged public property, meeting sources said.
Following Monday's violence, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told reporters that such violence had proved there was an intelligence failure.
But Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir disagreed with him and said: "I do not find any failure of police or intelligence agencies."
Surprisingly, Inspector General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandker had claimed they had information on the Jamaat-Shibir plan. "As police played their due roles, Jamaat and Shibir could not fully carry out criminal activities as per their plan."
Meanwhile, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif yesterday said there might be some failures on parts of the on-duty policemen, but there was no intelligence failure over the Jamaat-Shibir attack.
The law enforcement agencies would apply maximum strength in future if the anti-liberation forces tried to attack police and public, Hanif told a press conference at the AL President Sheikh Hasina's political office in Dhanmondi.
Hanif said the government was ready to ban Jamaat-Shibir from politics if people wanted.
However, he added, banning them was not possible as the main opposition BNP was with the anti-liberation forces.
Hanif called upon all pro-liberation, secular and democratic forces and people of all professions to unite against Jamaat-Shibir.