Bangladesh's top police official urges policemen to resume their duties and maintain public safety
Dhaka (PTI): A top police official in Bangladesh has called on every member of the police force to resume their duties gradually and maintain public safety and law and order amidst reports of attacks on the law enforcement authorities in the violence-hit nation.
Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) A.K.M. Shahidur Rahman, who was appointed as the focal person of the Bangladesh Police on Tuesday to handle the current crisis, asked his force to ignore rumours.
"The police are friends of the people and work for the public. We cannot imagine a society without the police. Therefore, I request our police members once again to ignore rumours and return to their duties in a phased manner, ensuring that security arrangements are properly in place," he said, emphasising the crucial role of the police in maintaining public safety.
Most police stations in the country, including the capital Dhaka, currently have no police personnel present, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
Multiple police officers have reported that over four hundred police stations across the country have experienced attacks, vandalism, arson, and looting. In this situation, no one feels safe staying in their respective stations or offices, leading everyone to seek safe shelters.
A police headquarters official mentioned that the police have not faced such a situation since 1971, the report said.
In many places, clashes broke out between the police and agitated mobs. Consequently, law enforcement officers vacated various stations overnight.
After the attack on the police headquarters on Monday night, senior officials were evacuated to safety by helicopter. Many climbed over walls to escape the headquarters. Law enforcement broke down in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on Monday, with police absent from their duty to keep law and order or manage traffic, bdnews24 newsportal reported on Wednesday.
Since Monday afternoon, the police presence in urban areas dwindled, and by Tuesday, the breakdown of the police system was evident throughout the country.
Attacks on police stations and facilities across the country, resulting in numerous police casualties, have led to this unprecedented situation, the report said.
As the army took charge following Hasina’s ouster and the death toll in the violence in which temples were also attacked rose to 440, President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on Tuesday and appointed 84-year-old Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus as the head of an upcoming interim government.
Meanwhile, the readymade garment (RMG) and textile factories across the country will reopen on Wednesday, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper said.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the apex trade body of the country's RMG manufacturers, urged its members to open their factories on Wednesday.
BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel, a participant at the meeting, told the paper that they were going to reopen their factories for the betterment of the country's economy and workers.
In a separate statement, Sulov Chowdhury, CEO of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), urged its members to reopen their factories as there is an announcement to keep industrial units open in the present context.
However, considering the current situation, he also urged the BKMEA member factories to ensure the overall safety of the factories, along with their workers.
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Karnataka government employees demand return of Old Pension Scheme
Bengaluru: Government employees in Karnataka have urged the state government to scrap the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), The New Indian Express reported.
The demand was made by the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association, whose leaders met senior IAS officer Uma Mahadevan on Monday and submitted a memorandum. The association asked the NPS Review Committee, headed by senior IAS officer Anjum Parvez, to recommend the reintroduction of OPS in the state.
Association president C.S. Shadakshari reportedly said the review committee has already visited Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where NPS was revoked and OPS re-implemented. The committee is yet to submit its report, but has told the government it will do so soon.
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Shadakshari allegedly said NPS has been in force in Karnataka since 2006. He pointed out that West Bengal never adopted the scheme, while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana replaced NPS with a contributory pension model.
States including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand have already scrapped NPS through cabinet decisions or budget announcements.
“Under NPS, 10% of the employees’ basic salary and DA, and 14% contribution from the state is credited to the employees’ fund. It constitutes 24% of the total which is non-withdrawable. This is invested in the share market and the final amount depends on the ups and downs of the market,” TNIE quoted Shadakshar as saying.
As per the report, he said that by limiting its contribution to 14%, the government could save up to ₹1.87 lakh crore annually if all vacancies are filled, strengthening the case for bringing back the old pension system.
