VIPs should concern with public safety, not their own special safety

IN a bid to boost the existing security facilities to our VIPs – Ministers, Members of Parliament, state Ministers, Deputy ministers and judges for that matter – the government is about to form a special police unit. The police headquarters have submitted a proposal to the Home Ministry in this regard. The Ministry is reportedly working on it. The special unit has been reported to be named as “Guard and Protection Police”. Moreover, it will have an administrative and operations wing and three battalions — Protection Battalion, Guard Protection Battalion and KPI (Key Point Installation) Battalion.

Four Superintendents of Police (SPs) will lead the operations wing and the three battalions. A Deputy Inspector General (DIG) will be the chief of the total unit. To sum up , it will have 3,188 members, said the proposal.

Meant for the politically privileged, the special unit is being formed at a time when lives of the general public have become increasingly uncertain. Be it a journalist, student, teacher or even a regular commuter in our roads – all are passing times amid extreme insecurity. Many wonder is it right now when suddenly the collective value of a few politicians’ lives of the ruling party have become so unimaginably precious. They also question who will provide security to the millions in the streets and in their homes many with threats to their life from goons.

Besides a huge demand of 260 vehicles, some Tk 160 crore will be required annually for maintaining the new battalions. And the plan essentially mooted for safeguarding less than a thousand VIPs.

The point we are trying to make is that, since the cost for forming the special unit will go from tax payers money we must say the prime objective of such “special unit” should not be to exclusively protect the regime’s politicians and VIPs of sorts only.

For VIPs to be particularly anxious for their personal protection by special units, the VIPs are only admitting their failure to make public life safe.

Very few politicians in the last 40 years have been killed or murdered in Bangladesh compared to thousands of innocent citizens killed, raped or mugged indiscriminately in the hands of criminals. Little has been done to build extra capacities for our traffic police for systematically managing our roads.

Both the capability and performance of our Highway police is not at all visible. So the rationale to create an extra police force for safeguarding the ruling party’s politicians is a marked symbol of our leadership’s becoming detached from the general people.

We would suggest that the government should try to be the people’s government. They will not need special units of police for their protection then.