Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir on Monday said that police would resort to crossfire where necessary if the government allowed it.

“If crossfire is necessary and the government allows it, we will do that,” he said while speaking at the inauguration of Community Islamic, the Islamic banking service of Community Bank Bangladesh PLC, in Dhaka.

The police chief said law enforcers faced criticism regardless of how they acted, noting that people branded them “fascist police” when they used batons and called them “weak police” when they remained silent.

“So, you have to give us an environment in which to work. You have to empower us,” he said.