CMP chief orders officers to open fire if weapons drawn at police
“If anyone draws a weapon, whether a gun or a sharp blade, they will be shot. That’s certain. The right to self-defence under Penal Code sections 96 to 106 allows officers to fire before an attack lands, at the head, chest, or back if necessary. Government-issued ammunition must be used to its full potential,” CMP Commissioner Hasib Aziz said
Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Hasib Aziz has instructed his force to open fire immediately if anyone brandishes a weapon at them, citing the legal right to self-defence.
Commissioner Hasib Aziz confirmed the order to The Business Standard.
The directive, issued via a wireless message on Tuesday night (12 August), orders all CMP personnel, from mobile and patrol units to Detective Branch teams, to carry firearms and live ammunition in line with pre-5 August 2024 authorisation levels. It also prohibits the deployment of any mobile, patrol, DB, or checkpoint teams without firearms.
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Several CMP officials confirmed the commissioner's instruction.
"Rubber bullets are not enough," the commissioner said in the message, referring to a Monday night incident in the city's Ishan Mistri Hat area, where Bandar Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Abu Sayeed Rana was hacked and critically injured while conducting a raid.
"If anyone draws a weapon, whether a gun or a sharp blade, they will be shot. That's certain. The right to self-defence under Penal Code sections 96 to 106 allows officers to fire before an attack lands, at the head, chest, or back if necessary. Government-issued ammunition must be used to its full potential," he said.
The commissioner further instructed that no police patrol should hesitate to use firearms.
"In the situation my SI faced, no one should expect to return without leaving at least one body behind," he added.
SI Rana is currently undergoing treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital. Police sources said the two constables accompanying him had shotguns but did not use them, reflecting a wider reluctance among officers to fire in the field due to the legal scrutiny following fatal shootings.
"In the post-5 August period, there were several changes in police operations. Due to human rights concerns, some officers began believing they could not use weapons even if they were attacked and faced deadly harm," he said.
Referring to the recent attack, he added, "They could have decapitated my officer. God saved him. I reminded them that the existing law provides the right to self-defence. My force will do whatever is necessary to protect themselves and public property as per sections 96 to 106. No one will sit idle and be attacked."
