Cops exposed to risks for lack of skills, training

The fatal attack on a police checkpoint in Ashulia has exposed a lack of skill, training, professionalism and seriousness in the lower tier of police. It also shows a lack of discipline among them and their inability to react sharply to counter sudden attacks.

Despite being armed with rifles and shotguns, five constables could not resist two armed attackers, who killed one of their colleagues on the outskirts of the capital on Wednesday morning.

Police sources said their arms were not even loaded. Rather, the bullets were in their pockets -- another testimony to their unprofessionalism.

The assailants, who came on a motorbike, hacked a constable to death and injured another critically and left the scene comfortably. While fleeing, they fired two shots. Police said they recovered two empty shells from the spot later.

Following the attack, cops removed the checkpoint and did not set it up again until 30 hours later, sources said.

No police members were sent to the checkpoint until 2:00pm yesterday, said an official of Industrial Police-1 in Ashulia, which has been providing 30 cops daily for three checkpoints on the highway in the area.

Wednesday's attack came barely two weeks after an assistant sub-inspector of Darus Salam Police Station was stabbed to death by a youth at a checkpoint in the capital's Gabtoli.

Security expert Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain said faulty training, lack of supervision and seriousness in duty bred unprofessionalism among police constables. For this, he blamed politically motivated recruitments and corruption in the force.

There over 1,00,000 constables in the police force now, according to sources in the Police Headquarters.

Asked why the constables did not open fire on the attackers, Habibur Rahman, superintendent of police in Dhaka, said the sudden attack might have caught them by surprise, and that they did not get time to fire shots.

A top police official, requesting anonymity in line with protocol, said the new phenomena of unexpected attacks might have left them bewildered. "They should remain alert."

According to Mohsinul Kadir, officer-in-charge of Ashulia Police Station, a sub-inspector of the overnight team was supposed to be at the checkpoint opposite Nandan Park until another officer took over.

But no sub-inspectors were on the spot, leaving the five constables without an officer to command.

Police officials claimed that the SI for the day-shift duty was on his way while the other one had left the checkpoint early.

One SI has been suspended over negligence in duty.

Police sources said during a six-month training, constables were provided with only 90 bullets of four different firearms -- Chinese rifle, shotgun, sub-machinegun and pistol -- for two days of shooting practice at different centres, including Bangladesh Police Academy, as Trainee Recruit Constable (TRC).

Besides, while on the job they are allowed to fire 40 bullets of Chinese rifle, shotgun and pistol at a daylong annual programme.

Politically motivated recruitment is another reason why there are so many incompetent constables, according to police sources.

Contacted, Deputy Inspector General Md Nuruzzaman (Dhaka range) of Bangladesh Police admitted that the training constables got was not sufficient.

However, according to the website of Bangladesh Police, while rendering services at different units, constables also undergo different service-oriented training for skill development and professional growth.

Meanwhile, police remained tight-lipped about the attack and the condition of the three injured constables -- Pinaruzzaman, Mohammad Apel and Mohammad Imran.

They did not even disclose the nature of their injuries or how they suffered those.

Police also did not allow journalists to talk to them.

"The trio were not hacked but might have been injured in scuffles," said an official of industrial police, wishing not to be named.

He added Ashulia police took them under their supervision yesterday.

There are allegations that despite seeing their colleagues being attacked, the constables from Industrial Police-1 did not come forward to protect them. They rather fled the scene.

Left without any clue, police yesterday filed a case against some unknown people.

Describing the incident, Dipak Chandra Saha, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Ashulia Police Station, said two to three men on a motorbike made a U-turn near the checkpoint opposite Nandan Park at Baroipara around 7:45am.

The bikers approached two of the five constables. "They talked to two policemen for a few seconds and suddenly started hacking them with sharp weapons."

Police were scrutinising footage collected from a roadside surveillance camera, reports our Savar correspondent.

The footage, collected from Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd some 200 yards from the crime scene, shows two men on a bike heading towards Kaliakoir at 7:53am.

They are in jeans and one in a white shirt and another in a black shirt, police said.

IS CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY

Yet again, Islamic State (IS) claimed the responsibility for the attack, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

"The Islamic State (IS) claimed an attack on a police checkpoint in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka," says a SITE post yesterday.

Earlier, the Middle East-based militant outfit claimed responsibilities for the killings of two foreigners in Dhaka and Rangpur and the blast at Hossaini Dalan at a Shia religious gathering in the capital.

Bangladesh government, however, dismissed the claims, saying there was no organisational presence of the militant outfit in Bangladesh.

The Daily Star could not verify any of these claims independently.

Nuruzzaman, deputy inspector general (Dhaka range) of police, denied that there was any IS operation in Bangladesh.

Those who claimed the responsibility for the attack might have used fake identities, he said, adding that they were still working to verify the claim.