More than 1.5 lakh police personnel will be trained to ensure security during the national elections scheduled for February next year, officials said on Friday.
“We will provide comprehensive training to 1.5 lakh or more police personnel to guarantee free, fair, neutral and peaceful elections,” confirmed Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Quazi Zia Uddin.
Uddin, who heads human resources (HR) development at the Police Headquarters (PHQ), said he hoped the upcoming polls would be a “landmark in the country’s history.”
Over the past three months, the PHQ’s HR department has developed nine training modules, incorporating input from election experts and legal professionals. The course, designed “under the dynamic leadership of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Additional IGP for HR,” was described by Uddin as “remarkable.”
He said the programme would prepare police to manage any law and order situation during the elections, reports BSS.
Training will take place at 130 small and four large police training centres nationwide. As part of the curriculum, two documentaries, a 15-minute audiovisual feature and a nine-minute film—along with a booklet have been produced.
So far, 150 master trainers have been prepared at the PHQ in Dhaka between August 31 and September 2. In the coming weeks, another 1,292 trainers of trainers (ToT) will be developed at 19 police training centres across the country.
“These trainers will go on to train over 1.5 lakh police personnel deployed for election duty,” Uddin said, adding that all trainers will undergo real-time exercises based on potential scenarios that could arise during the polls.
A formal ceremony to launch the training programme will be held later this week at Rajarbagh Police Lines, he added.