Recruitment of 4000 ASIs ahead of polls

Staff Reporter :

The government is set to recruit 4,000 assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) before the national election, with half of the positions to be filled through direct entry and the rest through promotions, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Public Administration Senior Secretary Mokhlesur Rahman at the Secretariat, the IGP said, “Fifty percent of the posts will be filled by new recruits, while the other half will come through internal promotions. We discussed the matter today at the Ministry of Public Administration, where some regulatory amendments were necessary to speed up the recruitment process.”

Asked whether the move was linked to the upcoming election, Baharul explained, “As you know, the chief adviser has recently given in-principle approval for the recruitment of several forces. We are now in the process of implementing those decisions.”

Public Administration Senior Secretary Mokhlesur Rahman confirmed that a police delegation visited to discuss large-scale recruitment requiring changes to a few police regulations. A joint meeting was held to expedite the process, and once the official order is issued, ASI recruitment will commence without delay.

He added that the finance, law, public administration, and home affairs ministries had jointly approved the creation of these posts, including the ASIs. Recruitment rules were also revised, noting that police and Ansar personnel are always the first deployed to election duties.

Mokhlesur further said training and recruitment efforts were already underway, with constables and senior officers-including Superintendents of Police-supervising the process. These efforts, he stressed, had been accelerated so that the force is fully prepared even before the election schedule is declared.

Issuing a caution, the secretary warned that if any officer is found showing favoritism to a party or individual while on election duty, would be immediately withdrawn and face disciplinary action under the law.

Police SIs, ASIs to get interest-free motorcycle loans: The government has approved interest-free motorcycle loans for sub-inspectors (SIs) and assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) to improve mobility, crime-scene response, and investigations.

Under the scheme, Sonali Bank will lend Tk600 crore to Community Bank at 9pc interest, which will then distribute interest-free loans for motorcycles up to 150cc. The finance ministry will cover the interest, while instalments will be deducted from salaries over five years. Police members will, however, pay Community Bank’s service charge.

Additionally, each officer will receive Tk5,000 monthly for fuel and maintenance for the first five years, rising to Tk7,000 from the sixth year.

Senior Secretary Nasimul Ghani said quicker mobility would boost investigations, police presence, and overall service quality. The chief adviser also assured that the government would bear interest costs if loans were taken from other scheduled banks.