Dhaka police have not found any evidence of “ghost cases” that BNP and its allies have alleged were filed against their leaders and activists in the past couple of months.
In a meeting with the commission on the pre-election law and order situation, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said they had investigated the cases on the lists submitted by BNP earlier this month, and found that those cases had been filed in connection with offences committed during the last general election.
The meeting took place on Thursday at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka, where the full commission and a number of high-ups from police were present.
The election is scheduled to take place on December 30.
Addressing the meeting’s agenda, Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder said the present commission had already held a number of fair elections at local levels, which had earned the people’s faith.
He asked police to play a neutral role during the general election to ensure a level playing field for all parties.
The Election Commission gave a number of directives to police officials on the law enforcement agency’s role in holding a free, fair and acceptable election, according to sources who were present at the meeting.
The police officials assured the commission that they were prepared to ensure security for the voters, candidates, and everything and everyone related to the election – before and after the polls.
Speaking at the meeting, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Patwari said the police had chalked out security measures based on the infrastructure of the polling centres and the roads leading to them.
Police have already begun a nationwide anti-firearms drive to stop the use of legal and illegal firearms before the election. Special security measures have been formulated for foreign nationals staying in the country, diplomatic zones and religious minorities.
Recommendations by police
During the meeting, a number of recommendations were placed before the commission by law enforcement officials, the sources said.
Superintendents of Police (SP) from eleven districts requested the Election Commission to allot an additional police budget for the election.
They said the police receivedbudget for only four days for the polls, but they took extra security measures, which include setting up additional checkpoints, starting the day the election schedule was announced.
They asked the commission to consider the additional work done by the police and disburse more funds for them.
The SPs also assured Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda that they would maintain law and order during the election keeping fully in line with the commission’s guidelines.
The DMP commissioner requested the commission for a directive on the use of mobile phones and firearms ahead of the polls, the sources said.
A high official from the Ministry of Home Affairs requested the Election Commission to ensure that Ansar members each get a Tk5,000 election allowance for five days.
A top police official of the Dhaka range said that although the police had been assigned to remove illegal posters and banners before the elections, they had not been allocated the logistics or the funds for it.
The official also asked for an allowance for chowkidars on election duty.
Top officials in Rangpur and Rajshahi ranges requested the commission not to bar police officials from using wireless communication devices if the mobile phone network is shut down on voting day.
