Attack on police in adabor: Cops now on the edge

On Monday night, Adabor Police Station received a call through the National Emergency Helpline 999.

Around 10:30pm, the caller informed police that a youth had been confined in the Shyamoli Housing area and urged them to rescue him.

Following the call, the station dispatched a four-member team to Road-10 in Adabor.

When the team attempted to rescue the youth, a group of eight to 10 people attacked them, stabbing Constable Al Amin with a machete and vandalising the police van.

The incident has sparked fear among law enforcers, who are now wary of responding to such emergencies.

Speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) official said, "Discussions are now going on within our force about how to respond to emergency calls, as fear is prevailing after Monday's Adabor incident."

"The patrol team usually has no more than four to five members, sometimes even fewer. Who will guarantee our safety if something like this happens again? Fear has crept into our minds," he added.

Such fears have persisted since August 5 last year, following the July uprising and the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime.

After facing widespread public wrath for their controversial role and attacks on unarmed students and people, many police stations and officers came under attack.

An officer-in-charge of a DMP police station said, "We try to take details whenever we receive a call through 999. But if the incident seems related to security risks or possible mob violence, sometimes officers are reluctant to respond. In those cases, we try to deploy at least two patrol teams."

Discussions are ongoing within our force about how to respond to emergency calls, as fear is prevailing after Monday's incident. The patrol team usually has no more than four to five members, sometimes even fewer. Who will guarantee our safety if something like this happens again?

— A DMP official

A sub-inspector from Dhaka district police added, "In Dhaka city, it is often easier to respond. But in remote areas with no people nearby, it becomes very difficult due to security concerns."

One such case was reported in Narsingdi's Shibpur area.

On July 12 this year, Rina Begum and two of her relatives were attacked by a neighbour following an altercation. They immediately called 999, but no police responded. The three were later admitted to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital with multiple stab injuries to the head and back.

Victims claimed that even when they went to the police station bleeding from their injuries, they received no assistance.

There have also been allegations that police demanded money to respond to emergency calls or attempted to handle cases over the phone instead of in person.

On July 18, Sumiya Bakht repeatedly called 999 seeking help to rescue her daughter, Tabassum Islam Syma, who was allegedly confined by a relative in Saghata upazila of Gaibandha. No help arrived for three hours.

A six-member police team eventually responded but allegedly demanded payment and took Tk 2,000. Sumiya claimed she paid the money through a middleman.

However, Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohosin Ali Sarkar, who was part of the six-member team, denied taking any money from Sumiya.

Contacted, Anowar Sattar, inspector (media) of the national emergency helpline, said, "We try our best to respond to all emergency calls and immediately connect them to local police stations. But sometimes delays happen due to logistical or transport shortages."

"If a single patrol team has to handle several incidents at the same time, they make a priority list of those incidents, which may cause delays," he explained.

Asked about cases where police did not respond at all, he said, "We have a feedback and inquiry team that investigates such complaints if they come to our notice. The number of such cases is very minimal. In those instances, we communicate with the police station and inform the controlling authorities."

According to official data, the national emergency helpline has received around 6.23 crore phone calls since its launch on December 12, 2017, to April 30 this year. Of them, emergency services, including police, fire, and ambulance support, were provided to around 2.72 crore callers.

The rest were blank calls -- about 56.27 percent.