Maintain law, order at any cost ahead of polls

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam on Monday directed police officials to maintain law and order at any cost, giving top priority to stability ahead of the upcoming national parliamentary election. 

He instructed that any emergence of election-related disorder or violence must be dealt with immediately through strict legal action.

The directives were issued while the IGP was addressing field-level police officers at the monthly crime review meeting held at Police Headquarters.

Baharul Alam said visible police presence must be further increased to keep the pre-election law and order situation under control. In addition to regular patrols, he instructed police to set up check posts at key locations and strengthen search operations.

The IGP warned that anyone attempting to obstruct police in the performance of their duties must face strict legal action. He also directed that those involved in such incidents be arrested promptly and produced before court without delay.

He further instructed field-level officers to intensify efforts to recover looted weapons taken from police stations. In this regard, he said the government-announced rewards for information leading to the recovery of looted arms should be widely publicised to encourage greater public participation.

All metropolitan police commissioners, range deputy inspectors general (DIGs) and district superintendents of police joined the meeting virtually. Present at Police Headquarters were Additional IGP (Administration) AKM Awlad Hossain, Additional IGP (Crime and Operations) Khondaker Rafiqul Islam, DIG (Operations) Md Rezaul Karim, DIG (Confidential) Md Kamrul Ahsan, along with other senior officials.

During the meeting, participants reviewed the overall crime situation for November 2025, progress in executing arrest warrants against convicted fugitives, the status of case investigations and trials, conviction rates, and other key issues.