Some police officers are still in the dark about an important directive of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) against unauthorised sale of ‘medicines’ by the street quacks in the capital.
The DMP’s monitoring cell directed the police officials concerned not to allow the quacks to sell ‘medicines’ illegally on the streets or in the local markets.
The directive was issued at a meeting held at the police headquarters on February 3 this year.
The directive was given after scrutinising the progress of a case filed with New Market Police Station on January 30 that an unknown man died at a city hospital after taking medicines from a street quack in New Market area.
Joint Commissioner (Crime) Sheikh Nazmul Alam and Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Muntasirul Islam of DMP headquarters and 20 other senior officers of the headquarters and its eight crime divisions were present in the meeting chaired by Additional Commissioner (Crime & Operations) Krishna Pada Roy, also president of case investigation monitoring committee of DMP.
The city’s crime divisions include Lalbagh, Wari, Motijheel, Ramna, Mirpur, Tejgaon, Uttara and Gulshan.
It is frequently seen at various parts of the capital city that street quacks are selling medicines with a false guarantee of curing various diseases.
Particularly unconscious and uneducated poor people fall victims to such fraudulence by the street quacks.
But the police have not yet conducted any drive against those fraudsters, though DMP has issued the directive over two months ago.When asked about implementation of the directive, Md Maruf Hossain Sarder, deputy commissioner of Ramna Division, said that he did not know about the directive.
“I was not present in the meeting and so I do not know about the directive,” he said.
When asked in this regard, Paltan Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Mahmud said, “Actually, I do not know about the directive.”
When contacted, Lalbagh Police Station OC said, “What directive has been given?
Where is the medicine being sold? I am in a meeting. ”
Shah Ali Police Station OC Salauddin Mia said, “I have not yet received any direction about restriction on sales of drug by the street quacks.”
“It is our regular drive against the street quacks on footpaths. Whenever we see such men on the street, we stop them doing the practice. But we have not been directed in this regard,” the OC said.
Additional Commissioner Krishna Pada Roy could not be contacted despite several attempts.
When asked in this regard, Joint Commissioner (Crime) Sheikh Nazmul Alam told the daily sun that it is the duty of deputy commissioners (DC) of crime divisions to inform the OCs under their jurisdictions to implement the directive.
“Though the practice of selling drugs on the street seem very simple matter, it is not actually so,” he said.
“Such illegal practice cannot go uninterruptedly. I shall remind our officers about the directive in the crime conference to be held next week,” he also said.