Iqbal Ahmed (not his real name) went to Comilla Kotwali police station on Saturday noon with his friends to meet some locals who were detained by law enforcers on suspicion.
As he approached a police personnel on the corridor to enquire on how to meet the detainees, the mid-aged constable asked him whether he had taken prior permission.
The youth, aged around 24, said he was unaware that permission was necessary to enter the police station.
“Well! Give me whatever [amount of money] you have,” the policeman said in front of the youth’s friends.
“I do not have any money,” he replied.
The policeman softened his stance: “Okay, then give me Tk100.”
Searching his wallet, the youth found a Tk20 note. “Will it do?” he asked the policeman as a dozen eyes witnessed the incident.
“Only Tk20! I do not need it. You may go,” the constable shrugged.
The youth, who works as a YES (Youth Engagement & Support) member of Transparency International Bangladesh, a non-government corruption watchdog, disclosed the matter on his Facebook account on Sunday.
Monday, he told the Dhaka Tribune that such “tips or bribes” culture was very common at the Comilla Kotwali police station.
To meet a detainee, the minimum charge is Tk300, he alleged. “A couple of months ago, I saw the officer-in-charge of the police station taking Tk1,000 when one of my friends went there to file a general diary over family feud,” he added.
Contacted, district Superintendent of Police Tutul Chakrabarty said he had no knowledge of such irregularities taking place at the Kotwali police station.
