In a move that has ignited fierce backlash from human rights advocates, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali has authorised officers to open fire on individuals attempting to set vehicles ablaze or hurl crude bombs that pose an imminent threat to life.
The directive, disseminated via wireless message to police units on Sunday afternoon, marks a stark escalation in the use of lethal force by law enforcement under the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus to thwart the complete shutdown programme of the Awami League.
Condemning the order, Awami League leader Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday said that the DMP chief has ordered the police to shoot protestors. “This is exactly what this illegal #Yunus regime has put my mother on trial for. So Yunus, Dhaka Police Commissioner and everyone in this regime will have to face trials in in the future as well,” he said in a post on X.
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Commissioner Sajjat Ali defended the order in an interview with The Daily Star this evening, stating: “Yes, I have given such a directive. If anyone sets a bus on fire or throws a cocktail and attacks police, will they sit idle?”
The instruction comes just five days after a similar “shoot-on-sight” policy was issued by Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Hasib Aziz, which has already drawn widespread condemnation for its potential to enable extrajudicial killings.
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Human rights groups, including Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) and the Human Rights and Social Support (HRSS), have decried these orders as a dangerous slide toward state-sanctioned vigilantism, exacerbating an already alarming deterioration in Bangladesh’s human rights landscape. ASK’s statement on Wednesday highlighted the CMP directive as a “brazen assault on constitutional safeguards,” urging the government to intervene immediately. Six international human rights organisations have also appealed to Yunus to strengthen protections, warning that such policies risk transforming police into partisan enforcers amid ongoing political tensions.
The DMP order closely mirrors the CMP’s November 11 broadcast, where Commissioner Hasib Aziz instructed officers to keep submachine guns (SMGs) in “burst-fire mode” when confronting “suspicious” armed criminals. Described by critics as a “brushfire order,” it has been lambasted by ASK as an incitement to murder, violating Articles 31 and 32 of the Bangladesh Constitutionโwhich guarantee the right to life and equal protectionโas well as Bangladesh’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Aziz, perceived by many as aligned with the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami’s influence, claimed the measure targets only “armed miscreants” and spares unarmed civilians. He further announced an expansion of permanent checkpoints from seven to thirteen, arming patrols with gas guns, 9mm pistols, and SMGs under his direct oversight. However, rights groups argue this setup invites abuse, with selective enforcement that has repeatedly favoured political allies while targeting opponents, particularly remnants of the Awami League.
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This is not Aziz’s first brush with controversy. On September 18, 2025, CMP forces used loudspeakers in Chittagong’s Karnaphuli area to threaten property owners with “severe consequences” for renting to Awami League members or affiliates, effectively denying housing based on political affiliation, a clear infringement on basic rights.
Earlier, on August 13, 2025, Aziz issued a chilling command for officers to “shoot immediately” in self-defense against anyone brandishing firearms or sharp weapons, explicitly advising shots to the head, chest, or back without hesitation. Citing Penal Code sections 96-106 on private defense, the orderโissued amid post-August 5, 2024, unrestโprioritised live ammunition over non-lethal options, following a violent attack on a sub-inspector pursuing an Awami League procession. Human rights advocates at the time labelled it a “license for overkill,” linking it to a spike in custodial deaths, mob lynchings, and politically motivated raids.
Under Aziz’s leadership, the CMP has faced accusations of fabricating cases against Awami League figures, extorting detainees, and failing to act during the July-August 2024 violence that killed hundreds of police officers. Reports from groups like the Global Centre for the Development of Democracy and Governance (GCDG) document “gross violations” in areas such as Gopalganj crackdowns, while Doughty Street Chambers has appealed to the UN regarding fair trial rights for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
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Chittagong remains a tinderbox, with recent incidents underscoring the peril of unchecked police authority. On November 13, gunfire claimed the life of BNP campaigner Sarwar Hossainโa convicted extortionist and killerโin Khondokarpur, heightening public anxiety. Days earlier, drug suspect Md Akbar was stabbed to death in Halishahar, and on October 27, Chhatra Dal activist Md Sajjad was shot dead in Baklia over a damaged banner, injuring 10 others.
Aziz has cited the impunity of killersโlike those behind the murder of “top terror” figure Sarwar Babla, who roam free on bailโas justification for his aggressive stance. Yet, as ASK warns, these orders flout the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which emphasise proportionality and restraint over ideological retribution.
Even some Yunus supporters have voiced unease, opposing the Human Rights Commission Ordinance 2025 for its perceived inadequacies. Broader critiques frame these developments as emblematic of a “fascist” turn under Yunus, with police allegedly ordered to “crush” Awami League leaders and activists.
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