Police stations reopen with military support in Bangladesh

     Dhaka, Aug 9 (PTI) Police stations in Bangladesh, which were deserted during the peak of the anti-government protests, are slowly resuming their normal activities with the assistance of the military, according to media reports on Friday.
     Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on Monday due to student-led protests, all police station activities came to a halt. Several police stations were attacked, looted and set on fire, leading to many officers evacuating their stations and going into hiding due to the threat of more attacks.
     More than 400 people, including police personnel, were killed in the violence centring the students' movement.
     After about four days, activities resumed at some 29 police stations with the assistance of the military, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported, quoting military and police officials.
     On Thursday, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, vowing to restore law and order in the country.
     Company Commander Shakhawat Khandakar from 25 East Bengal Regiment said: “Seeing how criminals were killing people, including the police, we decided that it was critical to save the police members. They serve the people; we needed to give them a chance to reform.
     "Many weapons are in the Tejgaon police station. If these fell into the hands of criminals, the country would be in grave danger. That is when we took measures to reinforce the security of the station," Khandakar said.
     Tejgaon Deputy Police Commissioner Azimul Haque said, “We are grateful to the members of the military who came forward to save our policemen and played an important role in protecting the lives and properties of the people. Today, we have started all police activities with the help of the military. I request all citizens to come to the police station. We are ready to serve you.”
     He added that out of six police stations in Tejgaon division, three police stations have been fully operational.
     “Work is underway on a small scale at the affected police station. In the meantime, many policemen have joined work in the police stations. The others are starting to arrive. We hope that all our policemen will join the workplace by afternoon," Haque said.
     On Wednesday, the newly-appointed Inspector General of Police, Md Mainul Islam, ordered officers to join their respective units within the next 24 hours.
     People from all walks of life, including different political parties leaders and students, are extending all-out necessary support to the returnee police personnel so they can come to their workplaces safely, according to a press release issued by police headquarters on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)