The process of purchasing the body-worn cameras for police to enhance security at voting booths during the upcoming general elections in February has not progressed far yet. The interim government plans to procure at least 40,000 body-worn cameras, commonly known as bodycams, for police to enhance security during elections.
However, the process of purchasing the cameras has not progressed very far yet. No tenders have been floated. As a result, doubts have arisen about whether quality and effective bodycams can be procured before the elections in February.
Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Faiz Tayeb said on August 10 this year the procurement process for the 40,000 body cameras was in its final stage. He emphasised that the devices would strengthen security in thousands of vulnerable polling centres.
"We are aiming to procure the bodycams by October so police officers can receive adequate training on their key features, including AI capabilities," he said.
Experts believe that if a camera with the right features is not selected soon through proper testing, there is a risk of rushing to deliver low-quality devices at the last minute.
A high official of the law enforcement agency told The Daily Observer that the addition of the latest body cameras has been recommended to bring transparency to police work. Based on that, the decision to purchase this bodycams has been taken.
These cameras will have video, audio and alarm systems. These devices will not only record video but also provide live viewing. Earlier, about 10,000 body-worn cameras were purchased for the police in 2021-22. However, they were not useful as local suppliers installed low-quality body cameras made by the Chinese company Diamond.
According to sources, an expert committee is working to finalise the body camera by examining various technical aspects. Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, among others, are supervising the matter.
Police Telecom sources said the police administration does not want to be involved in the body camera procurement process due to controversies over the purchase of various equipment in the past.
A high official of police told this correspondent that six companies have already expressed interest in supplying body cameras.
The companies are Smart Technologies (representing Huawei), MDM (representing Motorola), Hikvision, Hytera and Dahua Security. Smart Technologies (representing Huawei) does not have its own body-worn cameras.
They will manufacture body-worn cameras from TDTech. These companies have already separately presented proposals and demonstrated the devices to a high-level government committee.
Multiple sources have confirmed that two companies that were controversial during the previous government's tenure are among those interested in supplying body-worn cameras. Smart Technology and MDM are also among them.
It is alleged that MDM (Motorola representative) in collusion with former IGP Benazir Ahmed has embezzled hundreds of crores of taka through irregularities in the purchase of police radio devices.
This group is trying to manage this time as in the past. It is worth noting that this company won 41 out of 42 tenders for police telecom during the tenure of former IGP Benazir.
They have embezzled around Tk 6 billion by selling substandard products at prices 4 to 5 times higher than the international standards.
Similarly, Smart Technology, a company known as the syndicate of Nafisa Kamal, daughter of former Finance Minister Lotus Kamal, has also stepped up to hire the body-worn cameras supply business.
This organization dominated ICT-related work during the Awami League era. They are accused of embezzling huge amounts of government money by awarding them projects one after another, but not working according to the terms of the tender.
This organization was awarded the National Identity Card project by the Election Commission in 2014. In this case, although it was supposed to produce high-quality cards from abroad, it produced low-quality cards locally and supplied them.
The former syndicate, which has been in the IT sector for 15 years, has changed its cover and is now trying to 'manage' the tender for providing body-worn cameras. However, hundreds of crores of taka from the IT sector have been used to launder money abroad. One of the leading companies in IT tenders during the Awami League era is Smart Technology.
They have looted the government treasury without doing any work. They are directly shadowed by former Finance Minister's daughter Nafisa Kamal. They are investigating various government institutions in which they have committed corruption in the projects.
Smart Technology Syndicate - Despite being accused of tender fraud, corruption and money laundering, they have spread new nets at various levels of the government through various strategies. Smart Technology has partnered with Huawei to tender for the government's 40,000 body-worn cameras project ahead of the upcoming national parliamentary elections.
In December 2021, about 4,000 body-worn cameras were purchased for the Bangladesh Police. The quality of these body-worn cameras was questioned compared to the price. The prices ranged from Tk 80,000 to Tk 150,000. This time too, the corrupt gang is roaming around the government.
