Police cannot be a killer force: IGP

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam on Tuesday stressed the importance of avoiding the use of lethal weapons during law enforcement activities, stating that the police must not become a "killer force."

He made the remark while speaking to journalists after handing out prizes to the winners of the IGP Cup Cricket Tournament final, held at the Police Staff College ground in capital's Mirpur.

IGP said, "We will avoid weapons that cause certain death, like rifles that fire lethal bullets,” said the police chief. However, we will finalise this through consultations. But in principle, we believe that the police cannot be a killer force."

Highlighting the need for non-lethal weapons in routine operations, the IGP said, “At most, I might carry a shotgun — that’s a reasonable public expectation, isn’t it?”

He noted that in special zones where there are insurgencies or possibilities of revolts, different measures are sometimes required there. “But normally, while maintaining law and order, we will try to avoid lethal weapons and use non-lethal ones, which are widely accepted globally,” he added.

BCB President Faruque Ahmed and senior police officials were also present at the event.