Unrest in police over transfer, promotion

The police system that collapsed after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the face of the student uprising has not yet normalised.

Senior officials known to be confidants of the previous government have gone into hiding while some have been relieved and many have been transferred.

In the wake of the situation, an instability has been visible in the force due to the transfer, new posting, promotion and the agitation of the officials who were deprived in the past.

Sources said a section of the police officers known as BNP supporters who were demoted or cornered during the Sheikh Hasina government are trying to exert their influence at the police headquarters.

They are trying to control the decision making process as to which officers need to be transferred and who will be promoted.

At the same time, several groups have prepared a batch-wise list of officials who were deprived during the Awami League period and who were staunch supporters of the Awami League.

As a result, many of the professional officers have got themselves in uncomfortable position and worried.

Several officers, who have been demoted due to falling out of favour of influential police officers or for hailing from certain regions, told Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity that there are many qualified people among the deprived officers. Again some were not promoted due to involvement in criminal activities.

Now they also want to outstrip the professional officials. Some are also using political connections to create pressure. Due to their pressure, a proposal was sent to give promotion to certain officials directly from the post of Superintendent of Police (SP) to the post of Deputy Inspector General (DIG). Stuck in less important positions (known as dumping post) for years, some of these officials had become disillusioned and got involved with businesses.

However, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Moinul Islam told Prothom Alo on Saturday, "We have to consider promotion of some officials who were deprived for a long time. As per the need of the hour, those who are professional, responsible, and have good track records are being appointed to the important posts."

Amid this situation, a total of 73 police officers were promoted to DIG post on Sunday. The home ministry’s public security division announced the promotions in two separate gazette notifications. Of them, 31 were made DIGs directly from SP.

10 of the promoted officials were under routine promotion while remaining 63 were promoted as supernumerary DIGs. One of them was attached to Barishal range DIG office as OSD (Officer on Special Duty) since 2009.

The police administration is under the challenges of organizing the battered police system at the field level, restoring normal operations and restoring morale to the police. Added to this is the pressure of promotion of the deprived. Besides, there is a strong demand to bring the officials involved in the torture and oppression of people for long under punishment.

Sources said the police department needs professional and competent officers to reform the force and tackle other challenges, which is not readily available.

Sources with knowledge said the police force was heavily politicized during the reign of Sheikh Hasina in the last 15 years. It has long been criticized for being used by the government to oppress the opposition political parties and work as henchmen to hold one-sided or faulty elections.

During the latest student movement, the Sheikh Hasina government compelled the police to use unprecedented brute force and brought it face to face with people. The fallout is that from the IGP to the lowest rank officials had to leave the workplace and go into hiding with the fall of Sheikh Hasina.

The situation got so worse that even lower ranking officers and constables in Rajarbagh Police Lines also staged protests demanding justice for the officials responsible for bringing the police to such a low. They allege that over the past 15 years, a section of overzealous officers tarnished the image of the police terribly. At the same time, a group of officials have amassed huge wealth through various corruption related to recruitment, transfer, promotion and taking bribes. The victims in many cases could not even seek redress. As a result, the police and their establishment became the center of all the wrath of the people after the fall of the government.

The police are slowly returning to normal operations after the formation of the interim government headed by Dr Muhammad Yunus. All the police stations of the country resumed their activities by Thursday. However, the army has to provide security to the police stations.

However, the higher level of the police has not been seen to make trips at the field level to restore the morale of the rank and file. Officials concerned say that many of the officials who have become influential during the interim government are more focused to secure good posts for themselves and those close to them. Because of this, they are not yet showing any significant activity to restore overall order.

However, the new IGP told Prothom Alo that there is a plan to send senior officials to visit the police stations of the country. 

The contractual appointment of Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, the former IGP appointed by Sheikh Hasina, has already been cancelled.

Former chief of Special Branch (SB) police Monirul Islam and former commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Habibur Rahman, who are known as highly trusted officials of the Sheikh Hasina government, have been sent to forced retirement.

Mohammad Harun ur Rashid, Biplab Kumar Sarkar, Pralaya Kumar Jowardar, who were criticized for their controversial activities, are yet to join the work. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

During Sheikh Hasina’s reign of over 15 years at a stretch, political affiliation became a cornerstone in every rank of police. Those who were directly involved with politics of Chhatra League (Awami League’s student wing) or those with relatives in key posts of Awami League used to get ‘special privileges’. All of them went into hiding after Sheikh Hasina left the country, many of them are too scared to come out. 

On the other hand, some who were involved in anti-Awami League politics during their student life became confidants of the government during the rule of Awami League through controversial activities. Some of them are now trying to prove themselves as supporters of BNP or Jamaat.

IGP Moinul Islam told Prothom Alo on Saturday that the police force has become controversial due to activities of some overenthusiastic officials. Process to bring them to book is undergoing. Also, some controversial officers are going to be replaced by good officers.

Police officials prefer postings inside the DMP area. Some posts in eight crime divisions in DMP, 50 police stations under it and 10 DB departments and DMP headquarters are said to be 'good postings'. Most of the officials working in these places are known as 'influential' officers in the force.

However, for Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officers, district SP posts are considered as the most attractive. SP posts of major districts including Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Cumilla and Chattogram are most sought-after posts.

For the DIG rank officers, commissioner post of divisional cities are considered lucrative alongside posts of range DIG and DMP. Apart from this, some posts in police headquarters, Special Branch (SB) of police, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) are considered as 'good postings'.

After the interim government took charge, transfer and posting in important posts have started. In some cases, activities are being carried out with routine duty. At the same time, the process of promoting the officials who have been demoted for a long time is going on.

However, the list of officials deprived for the last 15 years is long. They will be posted in phases. On 11 August, five officials of additional SP rank were made acting deputy commissioners of five departments of DMP. One of these officials is from the 20th BCS batch, one from 22nd batch, one from 25th batch and two from 27th batch. Other officers of these BCS batches are currently serving as DIG and the minimum SP rank.

Four of these five officials told Prothom Alo that they did not get in any crime or misdemeanors in their service life. But they were stuck in additional SP posts due to political reasons or for not being on the ‘good book’ of higher authorities. They were snubbed even though 150 officials were promoted to supernumerary SP posts.

Similarly, officers of the rank of SP have also been given the duty of additional DIG. On 13 August, three such officers were given the charge of joint commissioner (additional DIG) in DMP. Among them, one is from BCS 18th batch, one from 22nd batch and one from 24th batch. Most of the 18th batch officers are now working as DIGs and additional DIGs.

However, a major portion of the officers who were in key posts of district and metropolitan police during the last general election still remain in the same posts. It has been learnt that a big portion of them would be transferred in phases.

Former IGP Nur Mohammad told Prothom Alo, "Everyone has seen where the partisan police officials have taken the force during the previous government. This situation should not be repeated."

He said that professional officers should be brought to important positions. Competent and honest officials among those who suffered in the last 15-16 years should be given important posts. Also, those who have worked professionally in the last 15 years should also be taken into consideration.

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo online and print editions, has been rewritten in English by Galib Ashraf.