At least 16 victims of extrajudicial killings in nine months, says ASK; experts warn IGP's 'crossfire' remark creates future legal risk

At least 16 people were victims of extrajudicial killings in the country in the nine months from January to September this year. The figure comes from a report by the human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). According to the report, two of them died from physical torture by police members before arrest, and four more died from severe physical torture after arrest. There are also reports of deaths in shootings before arrest.

Against this backdrop, remarks on extrajudicial killings by the current Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ali Hossain Fakir, have raised fresh concern and questions. Speaking as chief guest on the morning of October 26 at the inauguration of Community Bank Bangladesh PLC's Islamic banking service 'Community Islamic' at Shahjahan Imam Tower in Dhaka's Chawkbazar, the IGP said: 'When police are tough, they are called "fascist police"; when they stay silent, they are called "weak police". If the government gives permission and it is needed to maintain law and order and suppress crime, police will not hold back from crossfire either.' After criticism of the remarks, police issued an explanation, but demands for his accountability and resignation have also been raised.

Experts say such remarks by the IGP are entirely irrelevant and conflict with the fundamental principles of the constitution, human rights and civil rights. In their view, the duty of law enforcement is to bring offenders under the law, never to carry out punishment extrajudicially.

The experts fear that even without proof of direct involvement or instruction from the government's top level, the IGP's statement could create legal risk in future for senior figures in the government. They say the government's position after the remarks, its next steps, and whether effective measures are being taken to prevent such acts could all become important in any future judicial inquiry.

They add that if the IGP is kept in office after such a statement, fresh controversy could arise over the government's position, and a public impression could form that the government is silent on extrajudicial killings or indirectly indulging such remarks. In any future legal or judicial process, the IGP's statement could also be presented as a reference in assessing the state's position, the administration's attitude, or the knowledge of the authorities concerned.

According to a Home Ministry report on extrajudicial killings, 2,693 people were victims of extrajudicial killings from 2009 to 2023. In the same period, 2,630 people died in political violence, 1,048 died in prison, at least 133 were tortured by law enforcement agencies, and 684 were victims of state-backed enforced disappearance.

ASK's report says at least 38 people died as victims of extrajudicial killings from January to December 2025, 18 of them at the hands of police alone. And from January to December 2024, excluding the killings of the mass uprising, at least 21 people were victims of extrajudicial killings, 11 of them killed by police.

Former senior bureaucrat and analyst of current affairs Md Shekhabur Rahman told Dhaka Post: 'People holding important and responsible positions of the state and government should be extremely careful and restrained when making statements.' He said a careless statement by someone in a post as important as the IGP could create unnecessary controversy and embarrassment for the government, and raise fresh questions about its human rights position, political commitments and law-enforcement accountability.

Administrative law expert Barrister Zahid Rahman said: 'This statement by the IGP could put the current government in a major political and legal crisis in future. Because when the police's top official speaks of crossfire subject to government permission, the question will naturally arise — is the government also accepting responsibility for extrajudicial killings?' He said the current government should learn from the experience of the Hasina government, whose political leadership faced criticism and accountability demands over allegations of disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

Mohammad Tajul Islam, former chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal and a senior Supreme Court lawyer, said: 'What the IGP has said is a terrible statement. Through it he has proved that the crossfires and extrajudicial killings of the past happened on orders from above.' Citing 'command responsibility' in international law, he said such acts generally do not happen without instructions from the top, and if such an incident occurs in future the responsibility will extend to the government's top level. In his view, after making such a statement the IGP has no right to remain in the post.

Former secretary and writer AKM Abdul Awal Mazumdar said the IGP's statement needs to be considered with great seriousness. Respect for the law and human rights is essential in law-enforcement duties, he said, and those concerned should be careful that no statement or step puts the government or the state into legal complications in future.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Bangladesh Police Service Association said the main purport of the IGP's remarks was taking appropriate action within the limits of the law according to the situation, and ensuring police members' professional confidence and capacity to perform their duties. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, in a statement, said: 'In the same speech the IGP spoke of performing duties according to law and the constitution, and also of carrying out crossfire if the government permits — these two positions are contradictory. No government permission can legitimise an extrajudicial killing.' Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton said trying to shift the blame for deteriorating law and order towards crossfire is an extreme violation of the law.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has commented that the IGP's remark on crossfire was not right and that the government's position on the matter is zero tolerance. BNP acting secretary general and the prime minister's political adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said the IGP's statement, made for cheap applause and credit, will harm the country and leave the government embarrassed and alarmed rather than at ease. Drawing on past experience, experts note that during the Sheikh Hasina government serious questions were raised at home and abroad over the role and responsibility of the then prime minister and home minister regarding allegations of disappearances, crossfire and extrajudicial killings; if the current government does not take a clear position now, senior figures of the government and administration could face difficult legal and political challenges in future.