Staff Correspondent

Md Mainul Islam, the new police chief, has blamed human rights violations by some unprofessional officers during the recent student movement for sparking revenge attacks that have seriously wounded and killed many police personnel.

Action will be taken against these violators of human rights within the police force as per police regulations, the new inspector general of police (IGP) said during his first press briefing at the Police Headquarters on Wednesday.

Furthermore, to stop the attacks on police personnel and revive their morale, citizen security committees would be formed for every police station with representatives from students and local senior citizens, he said.

He expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of lives during the month-long movement, saying some “ambitious and unprofessional police officers” did not follow the legal procedures of applying force leading to violations of human rights.

"It is because of them [unprofessional officials] that this ongoing violence and casualties have occurred [against police personnel]," he said.

The new IGP apologised to the countrymen for the failure of the force to perform up to the mark during the student movement.

Efforts are already underway for restoring people’s trust on the law enforcement force, making the force dedicated to people’s well-being, returning personnel to their respective stations within 24 hours and ensuring security for the personnel with support from citizens.

Chiefs of the police force at the city and district levels would form citizen security committees comprising senior people, professionals, student representatives, political and media persons from among the locals living around each of the police stations across the country. The new IGP urged locals to help the formation and operations of the committees, final outline of which would be decided later.