DMP Commissioner orders firing on arsonists, cocktail throwers

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali has ordered police to open fire on anyone attempting to set vehicles on fire or throw cocktails. Previously, the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner issued a similar order, which drew mixed reactions.

On Sunday, November 16, the DMP confirmed via three officers, including a Deputy Commissioner of the Crime Division, that the directive was issued over radio. They requested anonymity.

When asked, Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali told the media, “I instructed via wireless that anyone who sets fire to a bus or throws a Molotov cocktail with intent to cause loss of life must be shot. This is in accordance with the law.”

A Deputy Commissioner added, “The message was that if someone attacks police with a Molotov and tries to escape on a motorcycle, they should be stopped, even by firing.”

He explained, “Given the current situation, the safety of police officers on the ground is at risk. In past political arson incidents, police were often targeted. The commissioner likely issued this order to boost police morale and ensure their safety.”

During the July uprising, in protest against the impending verdict in Sheikh Hasina’s war crimes case, the Awami League, whose activities are prohibited, set fire to buses and threw Molotov cocktails in Dhaka and other cities from November 10 onwards.

The verdict in Sheikh Hasina’s case is scheduled for Monday. The Awami League has announced a ‘complete shutdown’ online from Sunday for two days. On Saturday night, incidents of Molotov explosions and bus fires occurred in Dhaka and other areas.

Last week in Chattogram, after several ‘targeted killings’, the city police commissioner, Hasib Aziz, ordered armed officers to shoot suspected criminals. This directive was issued via radio on November 11 by the CMP Commissioner.

Human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) later expressed concern, stating that the constitution guarantees the right to life and legal protection for all citizens, and that extrajudicial killing or shooting without legal process is unacceptable.