The Bangladesh Police on Tuesday proposed that the interim government form an independent commission to make decisions on the force鈥檚 activities, except administrative ones.
The law enforcement agency made the demand to chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the inaugural ceremony of Police Week 2025, the annual gathering of the police, at the force鈥檚 auditorium at Rajarbagh in the capital Dhaka.
This year鈥檚 four-day programme themed 鈥極ur police, our country: discrimination-free Bangladesh鈥� will end on May 2.
Several senior police officials attending the programme told 抖阴精品 that an assistant superintendent of police made the proposal of forming the police commission for running the force鈥檚 activities, except administrative ones, including appointment, posting and promotion. Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam told 抖阴精品 on Tuesday evening that although the demand should come from the people, it was placed by members of the police force.
鈥榃e want an independent police commission comprising eight to nine members, led by a retired chief justice. The members would be eminent journalist, imam, two ruling party lawmakers and two opposition lawmakers. The home minister could be a member of the commission,鈥� said the IGP.
Baharul said that the ministry would decide on administrative issues, but the commission would decide whom to arrest or not and how the force would run its activities.
A woman constable proposed giving extra pay equivalent to one-month basic salary annually to junior police members as compensation allowance for their duties on Fridays and Saturdays, in holidays for Eid, Puja and other religious festivals and in the crisis period of time, a superintendent of police said.
Asked about the proposal, Baharul said that the proposal would be illogical, if the country had three lakh police personnel instead of the existing two lakhs.
鈥楪overnment officials are getting 100 days of holidays in a year. We, the high rank officials, have to perform duties on holidays, but we have facilities. But, it is difficult for constables,鈥� the IGP said.
Addressing the police members at the Bangladesh Police auditorium, chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus urged the police to reduce their distances with the people.
He said that the police force had been made a 鈥榤onster force鈥� in the past 15 years.
Yunus said that he was dreaming of building a new Bangladesh.
After the chief adviser鈥檚 event, police members also held a views exchange meeting with home adviser retired Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, in which police members placed several other demands.
The demands include ensuring 100 per cent risk allowance for the posts of constable to inspector general of police, which is now designated for the posts of constables to sub-inspectors, increasing capacity in in-service training centres, procuring vehicles and accommodation facilities in all units, including the Dhaka city, senior police officials said.
The home adviser said that the government was trying to withdraw the highest ceiling on risk allowance for the posts of constable to sub-inspector and the initiative would increase the amount of risk allowance for lower rank members, said a home ministry press release.
鈥榃e have taken an initiative to provide assistant sub-inspectors and sub-inspectors with loans. We will also request the government to repay the interest on such loans,鈥� he said, adding that they were also planning to appoint lower rank police members in their own districts having large areas.
He said that if both husband and wife worked in the force, the government would try to give them posting in the same area.
Jahangir also said that they would place the issue of procuring 200 pickups for the police at the meeting of a government committee on Tuesday.
The advisory council on economic affairs at a meeting on Tuesday agreed in principle to procure 200 pickups for the police.
Eight months after the ouster of authoritarian Awami League regime on August 5, 2024 in a student-led mass uprising, the country鈥檚 police force is yet to resume its operation in full swing because of its reduced logistics and capacity.