Dismissed cops demonstrate near Secretariat demanding reinstatement

Hundreds of dismissed police officers, along with their families, today (30 January) demonstrated near the Bangladesh Secretariat, demanding their jobs back.

They brought out a march from the Dhaka University area at around 11:30am and were stopped by police in front of the Shikkha Bhaban, adjacent to the secretariat.

Afterwards, at around 1am, five representatives from the dismissed police officers entered the secretariat to discuss their demands with the authorities concerned.

However, the dismissed officers ended the demonstration in front of the Shikkha Bhaban and left the road at around 3:20pm, Shahbagh Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Khalid Mansur told The Business Standard.

Before entering the secretariat, the five representatives spoke to media highlighting their plight and the reasons for their protest.

One dismissed sub-inspector said, "We have not done anything wrong. We were wrongly dismissed from our jobs."

Another officer said, "We have been protesting for the last six months. When we first started the movement, we met with the chief adviser and presented our demands.

"Later, we met with Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain. He reviewed our documents and said that our demands were justified and that our jobs would be reinstated. He said that nearly 98% of the protesters would have their jobs reinstated."

But days have passed by and their jobs have not been reinstated, said the officer. "So, we have resumed our movement. We will not stop until we get our jobs back."