The government has compulsorily retired 33 senior police officers who had served as superintendents of police during the controversial 11th parliamentary election in 2018.
According to a home ministry notification issued on Sunday, the officers were retired in the “public interest” under Section 45 of the Government Service Act, 2018, which permits the government to retire officials after 25 years of service.
The group comprises 14 deputy inspectors general (DIGs), 17 additional DIGs, and two serving SPs.
Most of these officers had been kept as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) in various departments since the interim government took office in August 2024.
Police sources noted that this marks the largest single instance of compulsory retirement involving senior police personnel.
The decision comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the 30 December 2018 election, widely dubbed the “night vote” due to allegations that ballot boxes were stuffed the night before polling with the assistance of law enforcement.
While the BNP-Jamaat alliance returned to electoral politics for that election after boycotting the 2014 polls, they ultimately rejected the outcome.
The opposition also boycotted the subsequent January 2024 election.
Following the ousting of the Awami League government in the August 2024 uprising, the interim administration began systematically penalising officials who held key field-level positions during the 2018 polls.
Earlier, on 20 February 2025, the government similarly retired 22 officials who had served as deputy commissioners during that election.
Former Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, who oversaw the 2018 polls, has also been arrested.
DIGs are Mollah Nazrul Islam, Md Saiful Islam, Miraj Uddin Ahmed, Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman, SM Mostaq Ahmed Khan, Jihadul Kabir, Mainul Haque, Md Ilias Sharif, Shyamal Kumar Nath, Md Zakir Hossain Khan, Md Shah Abid Hossain, Md Jamil Hasan, Md Mahbubur Rahman, and Md Moniruzzaman.
Additional DIGs include Md Barkatullah Khan, TM Mozahidul Islam, Md Anwar Hossain Khan, Md Moniruzzaman, Md Mehedul Karim, Md Alamgir Kabir, Md Rashidul Hasan, Sanjay Kumar Kundu, Md Nizamul Haque Mollah, SM Emran Hossain, Muhammad Saidur Rahman Khan, Shamsunnahar, Saifullah Al Mamun, Khan Muhammad Rezwan, Md Sajid Hossain, Sheikh Rafiqul Islam, and Md Mashruqur Rahman Khaled.
SPs are Molla Jahangir Hossain and Abdullah Aref.
