THE Rajshahi Metropolitan Police is finding it tough to deal with crimes and violence committed by political parties because of manpower shortage.
In the past four days pickets committed five incidents of arson, seven incidents in which vehicles were damaged and at least 62 people including cops were injured in clashes.
The Rajshahi Metropolitan Police said for manpower crisis they were failing to curb the violence, with the perpetrators often changing their strategies.
RMP commissioner SM Moniruzzaman told New Age that they lacked manpower required to check crimes and violence.
He said that they were very confused and facing trouble to handle Jamaat-Shibir activists.
Moniruzzaman said that the Shibir men were constantly changing their strategy, now using children in their programmes.
He said, ‘We arrested four children on Wednesday with petrol and china axes.’
He said the children move around the city with school bags and set fire to vehicles.
After committing crimes, they merge with general people and this makes it very difficult for the police to identify them.
At a press conference at Boalia police station on Thursday, the RMP authorities revealed that in the past four days five incidents of arson took place and seven vehicles were vandalised.
At least 62 people including cops were injured in clashes and the police arrested 36 Shibir men in these connections.
On 15 July, Shibir men vandalised two battery-run auto-rickshaws and set fire to a truck.
Police clashed with Shibir activists at two places, leaving 12 injured.
Shibir men on July 16 set fire to two buses and two trucks and clashed with police men leaving 5 injured.
On July 17 police arrested 26 Shibir men on the charge of clash with police and setting fire to an auto-rickshaw and on July 18 Shibir men allegedly torched four trucks.
RMP commissioner SM Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of detective branch Alamgir Hossain and Boalia police station officer-in-charge Ziaur Rahman Zia spoke at the programme among others.
-With New Age input
