Dhaka: Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzad Ali has sounded a note of warning of taking prompt legal action against any sort of extortion from rickshaw drivers. “No more extortion from the hard-earned income of rickshaw drivers will be allowed and the extortionists will not be spared anymore,” he said while a delegation of the battery-run rickshaws and easy bikes drivers met him at his office here.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the DMP commissioner asserted that if any police personnel are found involved in extortion, they will face the music. The officers-in-charge (OCs) of police stations will face suspension if they refuse to file cases of any incident of extortion. After giving a patient hearing to complaints of extortion by local influential figures, the commissioner emphasized that they would not tolerate such activities.
He suggested forming committees involving police and local community members aimed at checking the extortions. The commissioner called upon the r
ickshaw drivers to disclose the names of the extortionists to help bring them to justice, stating, “If you see no action being taken, I will quit the job.”
Regarding the High Court order on battery rickshaws, the commissioner mentioned that a writ petition has already been filed by the government seeking to stay the HC order, and the authorities will act in accordance with the court’s directives.