A fairer ladder to climb up

From now on, Police Headquarters (PHQ) will hold centrally-supervised examinations for departmental promotion of lower-tier police officers, to bring an end to discrimination that many deserving candidates have allegedly long been facing. 

As per the existing system, officers of a unit get promoted to that unit's vacant posts after passing the examination. As a result, officers of other units do not get promotion despite obtaining higher marks in tests, because of post shortage in respective units, said PHQ officials.

To bring a change in the system, PHQ has already formulated a detail guideline on holding exams of subordinate officers for promotion in seven posts, such as constable to assistant sub-inspector (ASI) or equivalent, ASI to sub-inspector (SI) or equivalent, constable to nayek, and nayek to ASI or equivalent.

After holding the test centrally, it will prepare a merit list based on candidates' successful results and will fill up vacant posts of any unit from the list serially, said officials at the headquarters.

Out of over 2.02 lakh members of the police force, 1,39,483 are constables, 7,748 are nayeks, 27,287 ASIs and 25,233 SIs, said Md Nasirul Islam, assistant inspector general (AIG, recruitment and career planning 02) at PHQ, during issuance of the guideline to unit heads on August 17.

A PHQ official said as almost 50 percent of SIs who investigate cases come after passing departmental promotion exams, this new system will help meritorious candidates get promotion.

"This will also result in quality investigation of cases," he told this newspaper.

AIG (Media) Md Sohel Rana at PHQ said this attempt will bring a paradigm shift in promotions of subordinate officers.

"It will ensure a fair promotion and bring out more competent officers as investigators," he told The Daily Star.

Till now, respective units would take promotion exams of its subordinates, with unit chiefs being head of exam committee. Additional superintendent of police (ASP)-ranked officials from PHQ would visit units as invigilators during the exams.

Allegations were rife against unit heads like district SPs for favouring their personal staff -- such as drivers, body-guards and candidates they knew -- in written and viva exams.

Citing an instance, an AIG at PHQ said last year, an ASP made a surprise visit to a district during promotion exams and found several examinees copying from books.

Such irregularity was taking place before the district SP's eyes, who was present at the exam centre.

Another police official said as very few posts fall vacant in many units, promotion seekers desperately try to get transferred to different larger units where more posts fall vacant.

Due to this, an unhealthy atmosphere of corruption, nepotism and irregularities has formed, he told this newspaper.

There are instances when even ministers make requests for their bodyguards, who are police officers, to get them transferred to larger units or get favours in promotion exams, he said.

He further said higher officials of the department also often make similar requests for their personal staff.