Bangladesh has more human rights laws than others: Outgoing IGP Benazir

Bangladesh has more laws on human rights than any other country in the world, outgoing Inspector General of Police (IPG) Benazir Ahmed claimed on Thursday.

"Like other countries, we have also signed the UN Convention against torture in custody," he said at a press conference at the Bangladesh Police Auditorium at Rajarbagh Police Lines in Dhaka on Thursday.

"In addition, we are the only country in the South Asian region and one of the few countries in the world that have passed legislation against torture in custody as a step after signing the Convention," the IGP said on his last working day before proceeding into retirement.

He said many local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have brought hundreds of crores of taka from abroad in the name of training the police on human rights and added that the NGO Affairs Bureau needs to inquire about the funds.

Asked about the failures of the police during his tenure, Benazir said, "We have to come out of the complaining mentality. We have a lot more to be proud of."

When he was director general of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the death of Teknaf Ward Councillor Ekramul Haque in a "so-called gunfight" sparked criticism at home and abroad based on a phone conversation.

Asked about the incident, he said, "It is a legal matter, and several investigations have been conducted by police and an executive magistrate. It would not be appropriate to comment on this."

Benazir parried questions about the US sanctions on RAB and several of its former and serving officials, including himself, saying "I talked about this in New York. I don't want to say more here."

"There was, and still is, an evil practice of a kind of bad politics in the country. In this practice, some have unjustly discovered me against them. But I have no complaints against them. I wish that you stay well," said an emotional Benazir, who wiped his eyes several times throughout the press conference.

On Friday, 30 September, the IGP is retiring after a long career of 34 years, five months and 16 days. On his last working day before retiring, he talked to journalists about various achievements in his career.

For security reasons, the home ministry has ordered round-the-clock police guards around Benazir Ahmed even after his retirement.

In a letter issued on 28 September, the ministry said arrangements should be made to deploy armed security guards in plain clothes at his residence and in a car during his post-retirement leave.

He avoided clearing his position about the chances of his entering politics after his retirement.

"Personally, I welcome challenges. My career was packed with challenges. I faced challenges as the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and as the director general of RAB and then as IGP as well," he said.