Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has appointed 426 individuals as “auxiliary” force to help it maintain law and order in the capital, reports BSS.
“We have already appointed 426 persons as ‘auxiliary police officers’ to help police check crimes and thus maintain law and order. They have been working as ‘eye of police’,” DMP spokesman and deputy commissioner Mohammad Talebur Rahman told BSS.
He said the auxiliary police force was initially tasked to help police to ensure securioty at shopping malls and market places in view of onrush of crowds ahead of the Eid festival but soon they would be deployed at commercial and residential areas in city.
The auxiliary police officers are provided pink coloured armbands containing the DMP logo on the top and words “sahayak police officer” or ‘auxiliary police officer’ and certificates of appointment.
Rahman said people having experiences of security related duties such as security guards were mainly given the makeshift duty while DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali made the appointments under Section 10 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance, 1976.
The section of the ordinance empowers the police commissioner to appoint auxiliary officers to assist law enforcement agency when it require additional supports.
“Mr ----- whose photograph is affixed hereto, has been appointed as an auxiliary police officer of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and is vested with the powers, duties privileges of a police-officer,” read the certificate or appointment in English signed by the DMP chief.
Subsection (2)(b) of Section 10 further stipulates that auxiliary officers, upon appointment, “shall have the same powers, immunities, duties, and authority as regular police officers and they will be legally protected, similar to regular police officers”.
The DMP spokesman said the ‘auxiliary police officers’ could detain crime suspects and hand them over to regular police for subsequent legal actions.
Asked about the duration of their appointment, he said DMP was yet to make any decision regarding the matter.
The DMP commissioner earlier said they decided to appoint auxiliary police officers to enhance security during the Ramadan and Eid shopping.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
