DMP boss orders police to shoot arsonists, crude bomb attackers

The Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali, has directed officers to open fire on anyone attempting to set vehicles alight or blast crude bombs in the capital.

This follows a similar directive issued five days earlier by the Chattogram Metropolitan Police Commissioner, which sparked a mixed public response.

Several DMP sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, informed Jago News that the commissioner relayed the order via radio message on Sunday, November 16, afternoon.

When approached by the media, DMP Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali confirmed: "I instructed over the wireless that anyone who sets a bus on fire or attempts to kill by throwing petrol bombs should be shot. This is provided for in our law."

The order comes amid heightened tensions as the verdict in the International Crimes Tribunal trial of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – for crimes against humanity related to the July uprising – draws near. 

The banned Awami League has called for protests and a "Dhaka lockdown" from November10 to 13.

Since November 10, incidents of buses and trains being torched, along with petrol bomb explosions, have occurred across the country, including Dhaka.

The verdict in Hasina's case is scheduled for Monday. The Awami League has announced a two-day "complete shutdown" online, starting Sunday.

DMP officials suggest the directive may aim to bolster police morale in this context.

Section 96 of the Penal Code stipulates that "nothing done in the exercise of the right to private defence is an offence."

Last week, following a series of "targeted killings" in Chattogram, the city's police commissioner, Hasib Aziz, ordered officers to shoot armed terrorists. 

The instruction was issued via radio on November 11.

The next day, human rights group Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) voiced concerns in a press release, stating that orders to kill or shoot suspected criminals without due process are "in no way acceptable."