Hundreds of sacked police members, who were dismissed from their jobs during the Awami League regime ousted in August 2024, and their families held a sit-in in front of the Police Headquarters in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday, demanding the reinstatement of their jobs.
They started gathering there from about 9:00am until around 5:00pm, when they announced holding another sit-in programme in front of the Police Headquarters for today.
鈥榃e will take position at 9:00am on Thursday in front of the Police Headquarters. Family members of the victims will also join the programme. We will return after regaining our jobs,鈥� said Touhid Hossain, the spokesperson for the 鈥榁ictim Police Family,鈥� a platform of the dismissed police members.
Saiful Islam, the platform coordinator and a former assistant sub-inspector, said that if their demands were not met, they would march to the secretariat.
鈥榃e will go there and talk to the home affairs adviser retired lieutenant general Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. Otherwise we have no choice but to die,鈥� he said.
Former home adviser retired brigadier general M Sakhawat Hossain had issued an order for their reinstatement to the Police Headquarters, but it had not been implemented even after six months, protesters said.
They said that they did not want any further delay in regaining their jobs, calling for their positions to be reinstated through an executive order.
They alleged that about 2,200 police constables and officers were sacked on different allegations, including family issues, remaining absent from duties, Facebook posts against the AL government and conflicts with AL leaders and activists.
鈥業 joined the police in 2017 and was sacked in 2023 for my family鈥檚 alleged links to the then main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party,鈥� said a protester Nadim.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner for Ramna zone Masud Alam said that the protesters started their demonstration at about 10:00am.