Home Minister orders crackdown on extortionists, criminals

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has directed law enforcement agencies to swiftly bring extortionists, identified criminals and drug traffickers to justice, warning that officers who fail to act promptly will themselves face disciplinary measures.

The minister issued the directive on Saturday afternoon while speaking to journalists during a visit to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he called on Professor Dr Md Asadur Rahman, head of the hospital's ENT department, who had sustained injuries in an attack by criminals. He disclosed that instructions had been sent to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and all metropolitan units across the country to expeditiously apprehend extortionists, notorious criminals and those involved in the narcotics trade.

Should law enforcement personnel fail to bring the accused to book without delay, the minister cautioned, punitive action would be taken against the officers concerned. He stopped short, however, of stipulating any specific deadline for compliance, insisting only that action against the accused be pursued with due urgency.

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Reiterating his stance, Ahmed underscored that any lapse on the part of law enforcement in apprehending the culprits would invite retaliatory measures against the personnel responsible, a warning he framed as a means of ensuring accountability within the ranks of the police force.