Origin and growth of Bangladesh Police:
Bangladesh police is a disciplined force according to Article 152 of the Bangladesh Constitution and It is also an important component/branch of the criminal justice system. Bangladesh Police started working from 16th December, 1971, but it shares common historical background of the police of Indian Subcontinent.
Mughal
Period
During Mughal Period crime and disorder were kept under control by the village
panchayats. The urban centers had their own police set-up called the Kotwali
system that functioned till the 19th century. Kotwal had to dispose of many
functions of the modern police. The Kotwal, like the present-day commissioner
of police, had wide opportunity to abuse power and take bribery. In addition to
crime control and maintenance of order, Kotwal was chief intelligence officer
of monarch. As King’s principal spy, Kotwal held enormous power and when
exercising the power arbitrarily tortured common people.
British
Period
After coming to India, the British rulers were interested in collecting land
revenue and for that purpose started setting up police organization. Crime
control and maintenance of order was not the foremost task of police, their
most important obligation was to help revenue authorities to collect land
revenue. When extracting land revenue police widely practiced torture. Thus
torture became legacy of police as an official practice.
Police
Regulation—Bengal (PRB) Act,1861
After the Sepoy mutiny in 1857 in all over India, British Crown directly took
the responsibility of India in 1858 and thought to reorganize the police
system. The British rulers enacted the Indian Penal Code in 1860. The
government also thought to enact a Police Act to implement the Code.
Accordingly, the British Raj appointed a Police Commission in 1860 and enacted
the Police Act, 1861 according to their recommendations. Under this Act a
police force was created in each province of British India and placed under the
control of the provincial government.
Police of Bangladesh owes its creation to the Police Act, 1861. There is
Police Regulation—Bengal (PRB) to regulate the daily activities of the members
of police force. Amended PRB, with all those rules and orders, was brought out
in 1943.
Fraser
Commission Report
Fraser Commission on Police (1917 recorded that: “Everywhere they went, the
Commission heard the bitterest complaints against the corruption of the police.
These complaints were not made by non-officials only, but also officials of all
classes including Magistrates and Police Officers, both European and native.”