Some 114 police officers have been receiving salaries and allowances without performing any official duties over the past year, costing the state a large amount of public money.
They were attached to various range offices during the tenure of the former interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, without being assigned any responsibilities.
Experts have criticised the decision, calling it an “immature policy” that has led to substantial financial waste.
Retired secretaries, former police inspectors general, and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) officials have said that paying officers without assigning work constitutes a major misuse of public funds.
They added that such officers should either be given meaningful assignments or sent home, noting that no other country maintains such a practice.
Following the mass uprising on 5 August 2024 that led to the fall of the Awami League government, the interim government placed these police officers who had served at the district level during the 2018 and 2024 national parliamentary elections on special duty.
The officers were accused of controversial roles in the 11th and 12th parliamentary elections.
On 25 February 2025, under three separate notifications, 82 police officers – including one additional inspector general of police (IGP) – were placed on special duty (OSD). Later, 32 more officers were added to the list, according to separate orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Among the OSD officers, 23 are deputy inspectors general (DIG), 27 are additional deputy inspectors general (Additional DIG), and 64 are police superintendents (SP).
The official orders did not provide reasons for their OSD status. Following the notifications, 76 officers, including 11 DIGs, were attached to range offices outside Dhaka, though some of the officials hope they may return to active duty.
Commenting on the practice, former IGP Nurul Huda told TIMES of Bangladesh that the practice of putting government officers on OSD is a very poor administrative culture. “It leads to the waste of substantial government resources year after year.”
He said, “Officers on special duty often do not even know what their responsibilities are. In the current context, this culture needs to end.”
“If they are not assigned postings or meaningful responsibilities, it results in prolonged financial loss for the government,” he added.
Officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs said OSD assignments were primarily part of administrative reshuffles, effectively rendering the officers without operational responsibilities.
While the practice is often perceived as punitive when an officer is removed from a key post, the official line describes it as an administrative realignment.
Retired secretary A K M Abdul Awal Majumdar told TIMES that no other country keeps officers on full salary for years without work. “This practice should end. OSD postings for administrative reasons could be justified for two to four months, but prolonged placement is unnecessary,” he said.
He added that officers on OSD continue to receive salaries, allowances, and benefits such as bank loan privileges. Senior officers at joint secretary level or above also receive cars and housing allocations, and many use the time to take up other work or business.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said large-scale OSD placements based on political bias, rather than professional failure or corruption, repeat past harmful practices.
He added police and other public services suffered under the authoritarian kleptocratic regime.
“Considering the damage state institutions endured, it was expected that the new government [interim government] would rise above this revenge-driven ‘our turn’ mentality. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case,” he said.
TIMES of Bangladesh contacted several OSD officers, including three DIGs, four additional DIGs, and six SPs.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officers said they follow government orders and act under senior officials’ directions. They do not make voluntary decisions and understand that any legal violations during their duties could result in disciplinary action.
They stressed that they do not wish to remain idle while drawing salaries and all hope to return to active service.
Nearly Tk15 crore wasted in a year
Police officers placed on special duty have received nearly Tk15 crore in the past year, according to official salary calculations.
Under the 1 July 2015 pay scale, a third-grade officer at the rank of deputy inspector general earns Tk102,650 per month, including house rent. They receive an additional Tk20,000 for mobile phone, landline, and medical allowances. Fourth-grade officers at the rank of additional DIG earn Tk96,200 per month, plus Tk15,000 in allowances. Police superintendents, classified as fifth-grade officers, earn Tk91,350 with an extra Tk12,000 in allowances.
While in active duty, officers also receive source money and car facilities. They can earn extra allowances through rank batch achievements for performance. These benefits are not available while on OSD.
5 additional IGPs sent into mandatory retirement
On 9 March 2025, the government sent five senior additional inspectors general including him into mandatory retirement. The officers include: Md Towfiq Mahbub Chowdhury, principal of the Sarada Bangladesh Police Academy, Additional IGP Kusum Dewan of the Navy Police, Additional IGP Abu Hasan Muhammad Tariq of the Police Directorate (OSD), Additional IGP Abdul Alim Mahmud (Ministry of Home Affairs OSD), and Additional IGP Md Masudur Rahman Bhuiyan (Training Reserve-TR post).
103 officers stripped of medals
Earlier, the government withdrew medals from 103 officers who served during the 10th parliamentary election with the police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The list includes former IGPs Benazir Ahmed and Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, and several former military officers who served in the RAB.
