Only one out of 50 police demands fulfilled in 4 years

Only one demand out of 50 – made by police in the last four years – has so far been fulfilled despite the prime minister's assurance for their implementation.  

Police personnel had placed the demands before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in separate meetings organised as part of the Police Week in those years.

Accordingly, the prime minister had taken note of the demands in each meeting and instructed the relevant ministry and the department for taking necessary measures to this effect. 

The Police Week 2020 will begin from January 5 this year with the slogan: "Mujib Barsher Ongikar Police Hobe Janatar" (Pro-people police is the promise of Mujib Year). 

Assistant Inspector General of Police (Media) Sohel Rana said, "We will place our reasonable demands before the prime minister like we do every year during the Police Week."

But senior police officials expressed their dissatisfaction as their demands have remained unfulfilled, according to sources at the police welfare department. 

In 2017, police officers demanded two uniforms per year from the government for inspector and ranks above it. Agreeing to the demand, the government has been providing two uniforms for police officers. 

This is the police's only demand that has been fulfilled till date. There is not much progress in implementing other demands. 

Sources at the Police Headquarters said a police officer's family gets Tk5 lakh if he dies while performing duty. But if a government officer dies during his tenure – even if he is on leave – his family gets Tk8 lakh. 

Police officials termed it a "severely discriminatory" policy, and said they will discuss this matter with the prime minister during the Police Week this year.

The police welfare department sources said during a meeting in the "Police Week-2019", the prime minister ordered the authorities concerned to fulfill some demands of police. But none of those was implemented till date. 

Last year, one of police's demands was to construct a sports training complex for them.  But it has got stuck in bureaucratic tangle. The development project proposal has only been completed so far. It will take a long time to construct the sports complex after completing the formalities, sources said.

Last year police also demanded that the government provide rations for two members of a family.  Later, the prime minister agreed to the demand, but the proposal is currently stuck at the police-2 section of the public safety division of the home ministry. 

Families of policemen killed by criminals on duty now get rations.  The government promised them to allocate the same for the officers who died while performing duty. The demand has not been implemented yet.   

Raising special allowances to reasonable amounts was another demand which also got stuck at the home ministry. 

A senior police officer said after pressing for the demand for a long time, the Finance Division agreed to provide 30 percent in training allowances for the BCS (Police) cadres at the Sarda Police Academy and the Mirpur Staff College. 

Besides, the government also agreed to raise several allowances as per the National Pay Scale 2015. But policemen are yet to get the facility. 

Another proposal placed in 2017 and 2018 to upgrade the Central Police Hospital in Rajarbagh to a 10-storey one has not made any headway.  The ministry sources said the process of appointing a consultant for the feasibility study of the project is now going on. 

In 2018, the government agreed to give sub-inspectors, sergeants, and assistant sub-inspectors loans at low interest rate for buying motorcycles and allowance for fuel.  But it is still at the Transport and Audit division of police even after two years. 

Meanwhile, police officers are trying to take loans from the Community Bank of Police for buying motorbikes. 

Many police officers are not getting due promotions despite having required qualification as there are not enough vacant posts. 

Officers demanded that posts be created at the higher level of police. The Police Headquarters sources said the process is going on, but no such post has been created till now.

Three years ago police demanded an approval for five posts of police as Grade-1. Although the government agreed to the demand, it has not been fulfilled yet. 
 
Requesting anonymity, a senior police officer said, "The prime minister agreed to all of our demands. Whenever we convey a reasonable demand, she immediately gives direction to fulfill them. But most of those are not implemented."

Police is discriminated among all the government officials. The demands we placed in the last few years should be fulfilled on a priority basis to eliminate such discrimination, he added.