No personnel from the police department were seen on the field till Sunday over security concern, although most of the police stations have resumed operations across the country.
Despite the resumption of services, the absence of police in the field has caused public anxiety.
The police officials concerned indicate that police personnel feel insecure, particularly about wearing their uniforms in public.
In a positive development, uniformed traffic police will return to their posts across Dhaka from Monday, according to the Additional Commissioner (Traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The army has pledged continued support until the situation normalises.
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, the country saw a wave of violence, including arson, vandalism, and looting, particularly targeting police stations. The ensuing chaos led many officers to abandon their posts, resulting in a collapse of law and order. As of Sunday, police headquarters reported that 599 of the country’s 639 stations have resumed official work. However, officers are currently limited to handling internal matters and recording general diary (GD), with no street patrols being conducted. Army and Ansar members are securing police stations across the country.
Several police officers, speaking anonymously, admitted to feeling a loss of public support and fear being ridiculed if they return to the streets. They also cited certain unmet demands that must be addressed before they resume full duties.
The absence of police presence has led to a rise in crimes such as theft, robbery, extortion, and land grabbing, further heightening public fear. Residents in many areas are organising night patrols to protect their neighbourhoods, with discipline committees being formed in some communities.
Although markets remain open during daytime, business owners are worried about the safety of their establishments at night time. Many are staying up all night to guard their shops against disorder, anarchy, and robbery.
M Sakhawat Hossain, home affairs adviser, has instructed police officers who halted work amid unrest to return to duty by Thursday, warning that failure to do so would be considered that they no longer wish to continue their employment.
A police sub-inspector (SI), who wished to remain anonymous, said, “We are returning to the stations, but we are avoiding the field out of fear of public backlash. Many of our colleagues were involved in fatal shootings during the protests.”
In response to the situation, police headquarters issued a directive on Saturday to set up citizen committees to help maintain law and order and to resume police duties at the stations.
In the meantime, students have taken over traffic control duties in Dhaka and across the country, despite extreme weather conditions. They have been managing traffic for five consecutive days.
Md Munibur Rahman, the Additional Commissioner (Traffic) of the DMP, told the Bangladesh Post that although many traffic police officers have returned to duty, some have not. He emphasised that all personnel have been instructed to report for duty and that each traffic division has been directed to ensure their return.
“We expect traffic police in uniform to be back on duty in various locations starting tomorrow (Monday),” Rahman stated.
Since August 5, there have been several incidents of mass robbery in areas such as Uttara, Uttar Khan, Dakshin Khan, and Mohammadpur in Dhaka. Criminal activity has spiked as soon as night falls. However, after five consecutive days of this situation, fear has somewhat subsided due to community-organised patrols.
The army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have assured the public that they will remain on the ground to help alleviate fears.
