Being police is no licence to extort

While extortion by errant members of the police force is nothing new, rarely such incidents are met with appropriate legal action, which only emboldens corrupt officers. One such case has been revealed by a Prothom Alo report that shed light on a massive illegal campaign by the officer-in-charge (OC) of Sitakunda Police Station as well as his associates. Allegedly, OC Tofael Ahmed collects around Tk 1.5 crore from various businesses in the area each month. As a result, it has almost become a norm that anyone willing to do business there would have to pay to the OC's men.

There are an estimated 196 industrial establishments in the area and all of them have to provide extortion money. From industrialists and shopkeepers to fishmongers, smuggled oil sellers and drivers—no one is spared. The money—ranging from Tk 20,000 to Tk 1 lakh, depending on the size of the business—is allegedly collected by four members of the police led by a sub-inspector on behalf of the OC. Against this backdrop, how can local businesses survive? More importantly, how can police members become involved in such crimes without facing any consequences? Besides extortion, there are also allegations of complicity in highway robbery by the Sitakunda police. Moreover, the OC has been accused of collecting hush money to the amount of Tk 2-10 lakhs from the owners of shipbreaking yards in case of workers' deaths.

All these are serious allegations and need to be investigated with utmost urgency and transparency. And if proved to be true, OC Tofael and other police members should be given appropriate punishment as per the law. The question is, will any real action be taken against them in the end? Because, when it comes to punishing any police official for such crimes, what often happens is that the accused is either withdrawn from their station or transferred to another station, but they hardly face any legal consequence. Such departmental actions cannot be called a punishment, nor do they serve as a deterrent.

Experts, therefore, have suggested setting up an independent and neutral commission to deal with the complaints against errant police officers. Given the mounting allegations against the police of late, we think it's high time such a commission was established and empowered to bring some much-needed accountability within the force. In this particular case, we hope that the Sitakunda OC and his associates will face the due course of law for the crimes they allegedly committed.