Former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Prisons Major (retd) Shamsul Haider Siddiqui is set to receive a new responsibility.
He is being appointed as a consultant for the Prisons Department, with a gazette notification on the contractual appointment likely to be issued next week.
Speaking to TIMES of Bangladesh on Friday morning, Siddiqui said he had received information about the development. He is scheduled to discuss the matter with the Inspector General of Prisons on Sunday. He said he had heard that there was a proposal to appoint him as a consultant for the prisons and that the gazette notification could be issued next week.
Sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant government policy circles said the government wants to appoint an efficient and humane officer to a sensitive department like prisons. They said that before taking office, current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had called retired Major Shamsul Haider Siddiqui and requested him to work with him.
Administrative and intelligence officials concerned are preparing the necessary documents for the important appointment, sources added.
Siddiqui came into the spotlight during the One-Eleven period when he was responsible for overseeing the detention of political prisoners, including former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, in sub-jails.
Later, in 2009, during the Awami League government’s tenure, he was transferred from the Dhaka Division following allegations of violating the Jail Code.
He later served at the government-owned Bill Trades and worked as the general manager of BM Container Depot in Sitakunda in 2022. His home is in greater Mymensingh district.
