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Cops mug egg traders!

Law enforcers become law breakers
19 November 2016, 18:00 PM
UPDATED 20 November 2016, 15:29 PM
EDITORIAL
This paper's report of two policemen being caught while mugging an egg trader, is an appalling reminder of the extent to which some

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A police constable is detained on November 18, 2016 when he was allegedly trying to mug a trader off Tk 44, 000 at Karwan Bazar intersection in Dhaka. Photo Courtesy: Prothom Alo
This paper's report of two policemen being caught while mugging an egg trader, is an appalling reminder of the extent to which some errant members of the police force believe they are above the law. The egg trader was stopped by two police constables on the pretext of searching them as part of routine security checks. But they chose to pocket the 44,000 taka that belonged to the trader. Ironically, the trader caught hold of the constable thinking he was a mugger disguised as a policeman! If he had known that the culprit was indeed a constable then it is very unlikely that he would have retaliated in this way.

This brings to light the impunity rogue elements in law enforcement agencies enjoy, allowing them to extort money from small traders who comply out of fear of repercussions. The report gives two more examples of men in police uniform taking away large sums of money from other egg traders. Whether they were actual cops or muggers pretending to be cops can only be ascertained through investigation, which is unlikely. But the point is, the fear of the consequences of reporting these muggings to the authorities and the general assumption that the money will never be recovered, prevents ordinary people from reporting the incidents to the police station.

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Now that the two constables have been caught red-handed, there is no other alternative for the police department besides taking stringent action against them. This means that they must be tried as criminals (the deputy commissioner has said that they would) and justice must be meted to them. In addition the police department must probe into whether other members of their force are engaged in mugging and extortion followed by necessary punitive action.