The valiant role of police in general in our War of Liberation, the distinctive valour with which some of them fought for the cause of our freedom and thus honoured, and the sacrifices that many continue to make beyond the call  of duty are irrefutable, and we treasure such glorious archetypes with great admiration.

You will not be wrong in thinking that I say the above because I am hesitant to say what I have to say below. Under normal circumstances, we should consider police as our friends, and they very much expect that, and say as much whenever they are confronted by the media about the general fear that some members of the public have of them.

One rotten apple in the basket can ruin them all - one misbehaving person in a group can bring down the image of the whole group, which the group cannot afford because they are a law-enforcing authority. Such an apple, or a few of them, made the news last week.

Newspapers as well as the social media have been rife with the news of Golam Rabbi (28), an Assistant Director of Bangladesh Bank, being apprehended by police in Mohammadpur last Saturday, an hour before midnight. He was detained in a police vehicle, asked to pay a fat bribe, beaten repeatedly, tortured mentally, threatened to be incriminated as a drugs dealer and an aficionado, and terrorised of being killed in a so-called 'crossfire'.

At 11pm when the incident took place, this city is alive with traffic jams and people moving about as well as shouting and chatting on the streets, when thousands of shops are open, or at any other time, no police personnel is trained to do any of the above. Not all of them do. Some bad apples are the culprits.

Some constables came forward and asked him to meet their senior officer in the parked police pickup truck, Rabbi said. As he went there, Sub-Inspector Masud Shikder of Mohammadpur Police Station pushed and shoved him into the pickup, he alleged.

"The SI first asked me 'how much my job was worth'. He then calculated it himself to be Tk 25 to 30 lakh," said Rabbi. 'You are in a good position. So, pay us Tk 5 to 6 lakh and go away. Otherwise, a case will be filed against you for carrying Yaba pills,' Rabbi quoted the SI as saying." (The Daily Star, Jan 11)

According to a Facebook post, Rabbi (a former Dhaka University student) narrated from his Dhaka Medical College Hospital bed that the police took his wallet, and on studying his visiting card one of them said, "… works in Bangladesh Bank, he surely has a lot of money." How badly can you be trained?

The young banker's alarming plight is enough to make one think twice about walking on a busy street patrolled by policemen, but frighteningly and more disturbingly, "Rabbi says that during his confinement in the vehicle, he witnessed many pedestrians being blackmailed by police into paying up." (bdnews24.com, Jan  11)

"A woman on a rickshaw was dragged down and hit several times on her back. After shoving a few packets of condoms in her vanity bag, the police asked her to hand over money and ornaments or else they will phone her husband and claim that she was engaged in prostitution, and she was compelled to yield, narrated Rabbi." (Facebook post, Jan 14) Weren't the policemen on duty supposed to protect the lady if a thug, mugger or criminal approached her?

Another youth was brought out of a rickshaw, and his mother asked over telephone to come to the scene. Both of them were beaten up because the police claimed that "the boy earns his living by engaging in narcotics", but both were let go in lieu of some cash. We have laws to deal with such offences; I refer to both the youth's alleged involvement and the police taking a bribe. Moreover, genuine drug addicts and wholesalers are insulted by such inept actions of the police.

If such nefarious activities are not put to a stop immediately, the police force may soon face a 'cry wolf' situation; people may believe the capture of a real drugs dealer or a lawbreaker to also be a case of extortion.

The good news is that the sun had risen the next morning.

 The failing cop was closed and attached to the Tejgaon Division, as reported by Hafiz Al Faruk, Assistant Police Commissioner of Mohammadpur Zone (TDS, Jan 11).

On Jan 13, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque, urging him to take action after probing allegations that a bank official was tortured and threatened with blackmail by a police officer. The governor also called for punishment of Mohammadpur police Sub-Inspector Masud Shikder, according to a BB spokesperson.

There was immediate response the day after from the IGP, which included more than one cop. "The police authorities will take stern actions against the cops responsible for torturing Bangladesh Bank (BB) official Golam Rabbi", said AKM Shahidul Hoque."If anyone becomes a victim of harassment [by police], then we will show zero tolerance. If any policeman commits a crime, we will not show sympathy [for him]," he told reporters.

The task is huge, but the police have to work hard on rebuilding their image. Handing out exemplary punishment to delinquents in their ranks is a possible start. Effective socio-cultural training and motivation, aggressive and meaningful public relations, and continuous contact with the community (CCC) will help regain the confidence of the people they serve.

The writer is a practising architect at BashaBari Ltd., a Commonwealth Scholar and a Fellow in the UK, a Baden-Powell Fellow Scout leader and a Major Donor Rotarian.