Bangladesh’s Awami League has raised serious concerns over a growing pattern of police misconduct, ranging from extortion and narcotics theft to deaths in custody and the normalisation of “crossfire” narratives under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government.
The party said that the mounting allegations point to a deepening crisis of police accountability and that the ruling BNP government can no longer dismiss them as isolated incidents.
“Allegations of custodial abuse, extortion, suspected narcotics diversion, selective arrests, and the revival of extrajudicial language point to a single, uncomfortable question: when those entrusted with enforcing the law are repeatedly accused of breaking it, who protects ordinary citizens?” it questioned.
Emphasising that the issue was not that every officer is corrupt, the party said, “It is whether the government will insist on independent investigation, visible accountability, and the principle that political authority never becomes a licence for abuse. Eight months into Tarique Rahman’s administration, the evidence suggests that test is being failed.”
According to the Awami League, corruption within the police force extends beyond bribery at the lower levels, reaching even its senior ranks.
The party cited a recent raid by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on a luxury triplex in Dhaka’s Purbachal, owned by Additional DIG Abdullah Al Zahir, a senior official in the Police Headquarters’ Repair and Maintenance Department.
“The raid resulted in the arrest of 85 people operating out of a high-end drug den running under the protection of a top police officer. Although DIG Zahir was quickly removed from his post following public outrage, the raid exposed how deeply involved high-ranking officers can be in organised crime,” the Awami League stated.
“When a senior police official provides shelter to narcotics operations, it isn’t just an isolated mistake. It shows how criminal networks can operate inside the state itself, using the power of the uniform to shield illegal operations while using the threat of arrest to extract money from ordinary people,” it added.
The party questioned what measures Tarique Rahman’s government would take to ensure custodial safety, prevent torture, fabricated charges, and deaths in custody; and ensure transparent, evidence-based investigations into allegations of drug theft by police personnel.
“Unless the administration takes decisive action to ensure that police follow the law rather than break it, the hope for genuine democratic progress will fall short, leaving everyday citizens unprotected and without reason to trust law enforcement,” the Awami League noted.
