Inspector General of Bangladesh Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir has stated that 27 police personnel were sent to jail over the last two months due to their involvement with drugs.
He made the remarks at a community policing rally against drugs, terrorism, extortion, corruption, juvenile gangs, and extremism at the Bagerhat Police Lines auditorium on Sunday.
Highlighting internal discipline, the IGP explained that stern action is being taken against drug-linked personnel, remarking that the force must clean its own house first before society can be cleaned, and called for public cooperation by providing drug-related information.
Addressing the broader drug problem, he alleged that drug dens were established in neighbourhoods across the country with government patronage over the past 17 years.
The IGP stated that Bangladesh Police currently has a force of 215,000 and plans to recruit 20,000 personnel this year.
However, due to a lack of capacity to train 20,000 people simultaneously, new training centres must be established. He added that there are no shortcuts to national development and called upon citizens to assist the government to ensure peace, prosperity, and economic growth.
To prevent juvenile gang activities, the IGP announced that special committees comprising Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) and Officers-in-Charge (OCs) of police stations have been formed from the district down to the union level. Noting that parents are aware of their children’s activities, he stressed that juvenile crime will decline through information provided by the public.
He also highlighted the formation of a skilled cyber unit tasked with countering cybercrime, rumours, and mob violence.
Attributing youth involvement in crime to unemployment, Ali Hossain Fakir noted that 2.7 million (27 lakh) unemployed individuals are added to the country every year. He stated that the vitality of frustrated youths remains unutilised as businesspeople hold funds in banks rather than investing, which hampers job creation.
Dismissing rumours regarding former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s return to the country, the IGP asserted that neither the administration nor the community police has any concern over who comes or does not come.
The gathering was presided over by Bagerhat Superintendent of Police Md. Jamilur Islam. Khulna Range DIG Md Rezaul Karim, Bagerhat Deputy Commissioner Golam Md. Baten, Government PC College Principal Professor Parveen Akhtar, Bagerhat Press Club President Abu Sayeed Shunu, and Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council leader Pradip Basu Shantu, alongside district-level officials and civil society representatives, attended the meeting and expressed their firm commitment to work unitedly against drugs, terrorism, extortion, corruption, juvenile gangs, and extremism.
