Hasnat calls IGP a ‘thug’ over crossfire remarks, urges police neutrality

National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Organiser (Southern Region) and Cumilla-4 MP Hasnat Abdullah on Monday criticised Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Hossain Fakir over his remarks on crossfire, calling him a “thug” and urging police to remain politically neutral.

“Like in the fascist era, he is now threatening crossfire. Let us see what action the government takes against him,” Hasnat said at an NCP public outreach programme in Mugda in the capital in the afternoon.

He said the remarks were unbecoming of a police force meant to serve the people, comparing the IGP with former police chief Benazir Ahmed and former Detective Branch chief Harun Or Rashid, who served during the Awami League government.

Hasnat warned police against serving the interests of political leaders, saying they were accountable to the people rather than government officials.

“You are not the home minister's police, nor the prime minister's police. The uniform you wear is bought with the people's taxes. Do not forget that. Neither the home minister in Eskaton nor the prime minister in Gulshan will protect you. The people will,” he said.

Urging the police and administration to remain neutral in the upcoming local government elections, Hasnat said they should not work for any political party, including the BNP, NCP or Jamaat-e-Islami.

“Work for the people. Maintain utmost integrity to ensure a fair election,” he said.

The NCP leader claimed that people were regretting voting for the BNP, citing an incident in Mymensingh in which a woman allegedly went live on social media and hit herself with a shoe to express remorse for voting for the party.

He criticised the woman's arrest and demanded her immediate release, saying, “The home minister has unjustly arrested her. She must be released.”

Hasnat also questioned the government's handling of the disappearance of Miraj Sheikh, who has reportedly been missing in Mongla for more than six months.

“The home minister's Coast Guard picked him up and there has been no trace of him since then. The government must answer where Mongla's Miraj is,” he said.

Expressing doubts about the credibility of the upcoming local government elections, Hasnat alleged that the BNP was plotting to derail the polls.

“We cannot trust the present government and administration,” he said.

Seeking votes for NCP-nominated Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral candidate Nasiruddin Patwary, Hasnat said, “Nasiruddin will be the people's mayor, the mayor of their hearts.”

He also accused the BNP government of nepotism in appointing fertiliser dealers and criticised what he described as an ongoing “syndicate” in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market.

Earlier, IGP Ali Hossain said police might resort to crossfire if the government approved it and it became necessary to maintain law and order and curb crime.