Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.) has insisted the law and order situation is improving, and vowed to keep improving it by taking everyone along.
He said this at an emergency 3am press briefing at his residence on Monday (Feb. 24), called following a day of harrowing incidents in the capital in particular, including the armed robbery of a gold jeweller in Banasree.
The adviser maintained his general view that the spike in crime could be traced to the desperation of the Awami League to give the interim government a difficult time, and return to power at the earliest possible time.
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“Awami League and its allies are trying to destabilize the country. They have plenty of money that was laundered abroad. Through Operation Devil Hunt, we will continue to hunt them down and give them sleepless nights," he promised.
He also said he was more than aware of the Banasree incident, and was keeping a keen eye on developments in the case there. He specifically mentioned any shortcomings on the part of law enforcement agencies would be looked into and dealt with fairly.
He also promised, on at least two occasions, an improvement in the law and order situation by Monday itself. In a meeting with top security officials at his residence, instructions were issued to step up patrolling and to take any measures necessary to crack down on crime, he said.
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In response to a journalist’s query on women and girls not feeling safe, Lt. Gen. Jahangir sought to reassure them that they have ‘nothing to fear’.
“We are always vigilant so that our mothers and sisters do not face any problems. I leave it to you to decide whether the law and order situation has improved from the way I found it when I came here,” he said.
When his attention was drawn to calls for him to resign, the adviser said they were nothing new, but instead of resigning, he would ensure the rule of law in the country.
“That is what they really want,” he said.
He also said there was no possibility of the law and order situation deteriorating further, rather it will keep improving day by day.
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Before leaving the 10-minute briefing, Lt. Gen. Jahangir (retd) was keen to remind everyone of the situation post-August 5th, in which he took this key responsibility. He asked everyone to keep that in mind, and comparing it to where things stand today, before passing judgement on his performance over 6 months.