Why were the police the main target in 2024?

By Taskin Wahed Akash

After Japan lost the war, America took control of the country for many years. During that time, instead of allowing police to maintain law and order, the Americans gave that power to criminal gangs, called the Yakuza. Police were ordered to stop carrying guns. Their job became helping old people cross the road, catching petty thieves, and controlling queues in shops. But real power was handed over to mafia groups supported by the government.

These mafia groups attacked political opponents, beat up communists and nationalists, burnt their homes, and even killed them. If any judge tried to punish them, the judge would be threatened. No one could touch them because they were working with the government. It was a scary and violent time, but it helped the government stay in power by removing anyone who opposed them.

Does this incident look very familiar to you as a Bangladeshi?

In 2024, during the “July Conspiracy” in Bangladesh, one thing stood out: why were the police officers the main target? Why did mobs burn police stations, kill officers, and destroy law enforcement buildings but leave politicians or government ministers mostly untouched? This wasn’t just anger or chaos. It followed an old, foreign plan, one that was used after World War II in Japan. That plan was called the Red Purge.

Patiya police chief transferred after threat of bloodshed by Yunus’ mob gang

Extrajudicial killings: GCDG lists 47 deaths since September 2024

The goal of that plan was to break the police so that the state would become weak. Then the real power could be handed over to loyal thugs, criminal groups, or politically chosen gangs, just like the Yakuza in Japan. These gangs would protect government-backed elites, silence critics, attack political opponents, and do it all without fear of punishment.

When police were killed and stations were attacked in Bangladesh, it wasn’t just random violence. It was a test run of the Red Purge model. Some foreign-backed groups, foreign-funded NGOs, and politically connected actors are trying to weaken Bangladesh’s backbone, its law enforcement, so they can take control through fear, chaos, and foreign influence.