Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia yesterday asked officers not to “unnecessarily harass people on suspicion” or “by showing them arrested in cases”.

He was speaking at a monthly crime conference at the DMP headquarters with the officers-in-charge of 49 police stations and those ranked above them, said an official preferring anonymity. 

The directive comes at a time when in a number of incidents some policemen reportedly extorted people by threatening to implicate them in cases.

Of the incidents, torturing a Bangladesh Bank official allegedly for Tk 5 lakh in the capital's Mohammadpur area on January 9 drew huge public outcry.

Asaduzzaman asked the policemen to watch their behaviour and be professional in discharging duties.

The senior officials have been asked to supervise their subordinates -- from the rank of constable to that of sub-inspector -- so that such untoward incidents don't happen, said an insider.

The commissioner also awarded 13 policemen for their performances in respective areas.

Of them, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Biplob Kumar Sarkar of Tejgaon Division became the best DC for the fifth consecutive time.

Besides, Constable Liton Sutar of DMP media wing, who found a Tk 57-lakh pay order abandoned on the street last month and handed it over to its owner, was also rewarded.