Listed, now 'cleared of' drug links

Though named in a list prepared by the Prime Minister's Office, about 100 cops in different districts have been found by local police authorities not linked to narcotics trade or smuggling.      

It is not clear what district police probes found about the other 200 law enforcers listed by the PMO.

Asked, a top police official claimed they took punitive action against “most” of those on the list. He, however, would not elaborate on the matter.

From constables to officers-in-charge of police stations, the around 300 cops also shelter drug dealers and their cohorts, according to the confidential list prepared in February based on field-level intelligence. Later, it was forwarded to the Police Headquarters (PHQ) through the home ministry.

The PHQ tasked local police administrations with investigating the matter for action.

The Daily Star has obtained parts of the list with names of at least 107 cops. The documents were sent to different districts for taking action against the policemen.

According to the papers, 34 of the cops were stationed in Khulna, 24 in Rangpur, 16 in Brahmanbaria, 13 in Gaibandha, 10 in Kurigram, five each in Cox's Bazar and Lalmonirhat.

Contacted, top officials in Khulna, Brahmanbaria and Kurigram claimed that they investigated the allegations against the cops but found nothing.

Superintendent of Police in Khulna SM Shafiullah, however, said, “We have transferred some policemen to different police stations as their names appeared on the list.“

Brahmanbaria additional SP Iqbal Hossain said they did not find anything against the law enforcers.

Rangpur SP Mizanur Rahman said their investigation was still underway and that they were yet to find any evidence against the cops.

The cases were almost similar in the other districts.

Queried about the names on the PMO list, sources in those districts, however, said most of the law enforcers maintain “underhand deals” with drug dealers.

For example, Mossarrof Hossain Tarafder, the OC of Akhaura Police Station in Brahmanbaria, whose name is on the list, was allegedly close to wanted drug dealer Hannan Mia alias Hannan Member.

Mossarrof never took any action against Hannan. Rather, they were seen roaming together on several occasions, according to top ruling party leaders in Akhaura and other locals.

Ali Arshad, OC of Bijoynagar Police Station in the district, has also been named in the list.

Hossain Mohammad Dulal, joint secretary of Bijoynagar AL, has been selling Phensedyl for years maintaining close ties with OC Arshad, said Al Amin, a former organising secretary of the upazila Chhatra League.

Asked, Md Moniruzzaman, additional deputy inspector general (special affairs and intelligence) at the PHQ, claimed that they took “punitive actions” against most of the listed policemen.

He, however, refused to disclose what those actions were.

Asked about the total number of policemen on the list, he said he could not recall that instantly but said it would be between 200 and 300. 

Quite often, arrests of policemen along with yaba tablets make headlines.

In the latest incident, two policemen were arrested for possessing 1,050 yaba pills in Khulna city's Khalishpur area yesterday. They are Assistant Sub-inspector Abdullah Al Mamun of Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and DB police constable Sohanur Rahman.

On June 9, DB police arrested constable Al Amin while he was allegedly selling yaba pills on the premises of a court in Mymensingh.

Earlier on April 23, police arrested DB Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Nasir Uddin, posted in Rangamati, along with 4,000 yaba pills. Narayanganj DB arrested ASI Suhrawardy Rubel with 50,000 yaba pills on March 8.

Several internal reports found cops guilty over such incidents but police negligence in taking appropriate action against them is apparent. 

For example, the discipline and professional standard wing of the PHQ submitted a report against Cox's Bazar SP Iqbal Hossain and 11 other cops after its investigation found that the law enforcers were involved in selling some 9.90 lakh yaba tablets. The pills were seized by a DB team on October 27, 2017.

After Bashir Uddin from the DB filed a complaint, the PHQ launched an investigation into the incident. 

Wising not to be named, a top official from the PHQ unit said they have submitted their report against the SP, two additional SPs, an OC, four SIs and ASIs, and three constables.

The report suggested departmental action against the SP and the two additional SPs for “misconduct” as they did not supervise the investigation properly and allowed the investigators to submit a charge sheet without checking it properly.

The other officials were charged with yaba sale, conducting a fake investigation and submitting a faulty charge sheet, sources said.

However, the authorities are yet to take any concrete action against the cops. On Wednesday, the two ASPs were transferred to other police stations, added the sources.

Contacted, Habibur Rahman, deputy inspector general (DIG) at the PHQ, said they received the investigation report and would take action against the culprits soon.

Asked about actions against the 300 policemen on the PMO list, he claimed steps were taken against a number of the cops as per the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). He, however, would not explain further.

Replying to a query on the issue, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan recently said they were not “sparing anyone”.

“Possibly you are not getting all the messages,” he said at a programme in the capital, adding that the law enforcers were facing departmental action and suspension.

“One or two have already been sent to jail,” he said, without explaining.

Intelligence report suggests over a dozen policemen have links with drug smuggling in Dhaka Metropolitan Police area, said sources.

Asked about it, DB Joint Commissioner Abdul Baten said apart from taking actions against police members, they were also trying to motivate other law enforcers not to get involved in drug crimes.