IGP’s ‘crossfire’ remark draws flak

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir come under widespread criticism from human rights organisations and political parties for suggesting that police could resort to ‘crossfire’ or extrajudicial killings with government authorisation, prompting demands for his removal, a public apology and an unequivocal commitment to the rule of law.

Transparency Inter-national Bangladesh (TIB), Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Odhikar and the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) condemned the remarks, warning that no government directive could legitimise killing a citizen outside the judicial process.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman described the comments as ‘irresponsible’, questioning whether the police chief intended to use crossfire as a shield for the force’s failure to maintain law and order. Advocating extrajudicial killings instead of professional investigation and due process reflected ‘professional bankruptcy’, he observed. TIB demanded a formal explanation, an unconditional public apology, a retraction of the statement and the IGP’s removal until accountability was ensured.

ASK maintained that the state had no authority to kill anyone, including a person accused of a crime, outside the judicial process. It urged the government to take appropriate action and declare that extrajudicial killings would neither be tolerated nor encouraged, recalling the government’s manifesto pledge to end the practice.

Odhikar warned that the comments could serve as a green light for extrajudicial killings on the ground. The organisation reported documenting five such incidents since the current government assumed office and called for impartial investigations and legal proceedings. HRSS also stressed that combating crime must remain within the bounds of law, leaving no room for extrajudicial killings, even with state sanction.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) demanded the IGP’s immediate removal in a statement issued on Monday, signed by its office secretary Sadia Farzana Dina. It described the remarks as unconstitutional and a dangerous attempt to legitimise human rights violations.

The NCP recalled the BNP’s pledge, under point 14 of its 31-point state reform blueprint, to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, arguing that the IGP’s comments contradicted that commitment. It linked public resistance to such abuses to the July 2024 mass uprising and called for police reform, including a police commission under the July Charter.