Finance Minister AMA Muhith has strongly objected to creation of a tourist police force, saying the country’s police force has already expanded in an unplanned way.
The finance minister approved the proposal of tourist police on September 15, but in his note on the summary of the proposal he expressed strong dissatisfaction at the whole procedure of setting up of the force “bypassing all due processes and authorities to take the prime minister’s consent.”
The government has created 31 permanent cadre posts and 1,020 non-cadre posts for the tourist police force at a yearly cost of Tk206.5m.
The home ministry has, however, made appointments to 25 cadre posts and 598 non-cadre posts and approved 80 vehicles for the force.
The home ministry cited data of the Bangladesh Tourism Board to justify formation of the force, saying 70,678 foreign tourists had visited Bangladesh in the past five years and the tourist police would work for their protection.
The ministries of civil aviation and public administration have already given their consents to the proposal.
Muhith said there had already been enough drama centring the industrial police and now the home ministry had set up the tourist police, creating the manpower from one force. He expressed doubt if these specialised forces had any training.
He said the work forces of different sections of the police, including the Special Branch, had been increased, but it was not clear how these forces were being used.
The finance minister also expressed dissatisfaction at the home ministry’s failure to control the activities of the metropolitan police and the highway police.
