Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md. Ali Hossain Fakir has said the entire police force will not bear responsibility for the irregularities and corruption of a small fraction of its members. He said, “You know that whenever we start working against any major wrongdoing, crime or irregularity, various rumors are spread against us, and false accusations are made. Because of this kind of yellow journalism… I would say to the 99% of you who are good journalists: stand up against this. There are bad people in our police too. I once said not even 1% of our police personnel are bad. Media coverage began saying I was trying to justify police irregularities. No — I gathered information in various ways, and those involved in crime among us amount to 0.70%. It doesn’t even reach 1%. Why should my entire police force bear responsibility for that small number of corrupt members?”
Addressing journalists, he said, “I would tell you: if I commit a crime, write about it. But destroying someone’s morale through false accusations… there is a conspiracy against this too. You know that over the past 17 years, banks were emptied out because of irregularities and corruption. You now have to apply to the bank to get back your own deposited money. So, no conspiracy theories — let us instead identify the conspirators. There are conspirators among you too. There are some within my own force as well. They exist across all of Bangladesh. Let us all stand united against conspiracy.”
The IGP made the appeal in his remarks as chief guest at the Bangladesh Police Merit Scholarship ceremony Saturday (Sept. 5) morning, awarding scholarships to children of police members who achieved GPA-5 in the SSC, HSC and equivalent examinations in 2024 and 2025. Police headquarters organized the scholarship ceremony at the Bangladesh Police Auditorium in Rajarbagh Police Lines in the capital. The scholarships were funded by the Bangladesh Police Welfare Trust.
Presided over by Additional IGP (Administration) A.K.M. Aowlad Hossain, the event featured remarks from Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed. Welcome remarks were given by AIG Ismail Hossain. Senior police officials, guardians and the meritorious scholarship recipients were present at the event.
He said that after the July revolution, the new generation has been getting into arguments with traffic police or law enforcement, saying inappropriate things. He said if law and order isn’t maintained, if your and my safety isn’t assured, and if you have property, a house and a car but no guarantee of returning home safely after stepping out, the country will become dysfunctional.
The IGP also said that because of loopholes in the law, it isn’t possible to keep drug dealers, muggers and other criminals in jail for long.
He said many criminals have been brought under the law multiple times through operations against drugs and mugging. But because of various legal limitations, they cannot be detained for long, and they end up committing the same crimes again after release.
Md. Ali Hossain Fakir said, “We are running operations against drugs. Every drug dealer and every mugger has been brought under the law multiple times. But because of loopholes in the law, we haven’t been able to keep them detained that way. They get out again and get involved in the same crimes.”
The IGP called on ordinary citizens to join police in preventing drugs and mugging.
He said the number of police personnel is very low compared with the country’s population — only about one police officer for roughly every 1,000 people. He said maintaining law and order therefore requires working together with people from all walks of life in society.
Noting that drugs are destroying the new generation, the IGP said yaba and various other drugs are being handed to young people under different names. He said these drugs are sometimes marketed as “energy tablets” or other appealing names, and parents need to make their children aware of this.
The police chief warned the students, saying they must always stay alert so that the deadly grip of drugs cannot touch them through momentary curiosity or peer pressure. He said they must remember that drugs are a death trap, and that excessive addiction to mobile phones, social media and internet gaming is just as harmful as addiction to other intoxicants.
He said, “Use technology, but be careful that technology doesn’t end up using you. As citizens of this country, obey the law and encourage others to do the same.”
A total of 801 students who achieved GPA-5 in the 2024 SSC exam and 272 in the HSC exam, along with 845 in the 2025 SSC exam and 195 in the HSC exam, received the merit scholarships. Across 2024 and 2025, a total of 2,113 meritorious students received Bangladesh Police merit scholarships. Of them, 360 students in Dhaka were formally awarded scholarships today. The rest will receive their scholarships through their respective district Superintendent of Police offices.