Keeping people in quarantine is a major battle: outgoing IGP

The outgoing Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Javed Patwary today said that keeping people in home quarantine is a "major battle" but every member of the force has been sincerely doing their part from the start.

Police officials have tried their best to identify the people who came from abroad since the beginning and ensure that they maintain quarantine by visiting their houses across the country, he said. 

"But we have faced problems in locating the Bangladeshi expatriates who do not live in their permanent address as mentioned in their passports," said the police chief while addressing an online media briefing from the Police Headquarters (PHQ), organised to mark the end of his two-year stint as IGP and 35 years in the service.

The outgoing police chief said they have no training to stop the spread of coronavirus but police officials are fighting against it by staying on the streets.

"If awareness is not created among people, then no country will get rid of the virus. Police are doing their best to create awareness," he said.

He said that police took preparations in January to create awareness among people, setting a standard operational procedure (SOP) about how to fight the spread of the virus and disseminating the SOP to all police units.

Police have had to do many things in recent times to deal with the epidemic, such as ensuring relief supply and conducting burials of Covid-19 victims in line with the WHO guidelines, he said.

The outgoing police chief praised his newly appointed successor, Benazir Ahmed, terming him a "brilliant, smart and capable" officer who could brighten the image of the police.

Talking about his two-year tenure as police chief, Patwary said that he had tried to improve the image of Bangladesh police.

The outgoing police chief further said that he tried to make postings, promotions and transfers transparent as he brought fairness in the recruitment of 3,500 sub-inspectors and 13,000 constables during his tenure.

The government yesterday appointed the outgoing police chief as the Bangladeshi ambassador to Saudi Arabia for the next three years.

Asked about his new responsibility, Patwary said that he will try to work for the welfare, development and safety of Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia in line with the country's foreign policy.

"I will try to enrich the relations between the two countries," he added.