The government has sent Additional Deputy Inspector General (Addl DIG) of Tourist Police Md Moniruzzaman on compulsory retirement. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification to this effect on Monday, signed by Senior Secretary Manzur Morshed Chowdhury.
The order follows allegations that the officer attended a political event in police uniform to support his brother’s bid for an Awami League nomination.
According to the notification, on 29 April 2024, Moniruzzaman’s younger brother, Md Wahiduzzaman, went to Awami League’s political office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, to submit his nomination paper for Jhenaidah-1 by-election.
Moniruzzaman was present at the ceremony in his police uniform and took an active part in the proceedings. The following day, on 30 April, various national dailies and online news outlets published reports and photographs of the officer’s uniform-clad presence at the political office.
Consequently, a departmental case was filed and a show-cause notice was issued against him on charges of conduct unbecoming of a responsible officer, illegal attempts to influence a by-election, and tarnishing the public image of the police force.
While Moniruzzaman submitted a written reply to the notice, he declined to participate in a personal hearing. A three-member investigation board was subsequently formed to look into the gravity of the allegations. Following its probe, the board concluded that the charges against the officer were proven.
A second show-cause notice was then issued, to which Moniruzzaman failed to provide a response.
Upon reviewing the allegations, his written reply, the investigation report, and other relevant documents, a preliminary decision was reached to send him on “compulsory retirement”. Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) concurred with this recommendation.
The notification further said that the final order for the major penalty was issued with the approval of the president, as the appointing authority, after the charge of “misconduct” was proven under the Government Servant (Discipline and Appeal) Rules.
Earlier, on 11 August 2024, after the fall of Awami League government, Additional DIG Moniruzzaman had applied for voluntary retirement to Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
