Dhaka: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, new Officers-in-Charge (OCs) have been appointed to 527 police stations across the country through a lottery system just before the announcement of the schedule for the 13th National Parliament elections. 'A total of 527 OCs were transferred through lottery,' assistant inspector general (AIG), media, Police Headquarters A.H.M. Sahadat Hossaine told BSS today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, all the police stations in 64 districts except the metropolitans have received new OCs through the transfer. An official order was issued in this regard today. Police Headquarters reported that the country has a total of 639 police stations-527 at the district level and 110 in metropolitan areas. The lottery system was applied only to district-level police stations, while posts in metropolitan areas will be managed internally by respective commissioners.
The unprecedented move aims to ensure neutrality, proper duty execution, and a stable law-and-order situation during the elections. According to Police Headquarters, a list of honest and impartial inspectors was prepared based on recommendations from unit chiefs. The final appointments were made through a lottery conducted from this vetted list, officially termed as a list of 'recommended' officers.
The lottery-based postings include 98 OCs in 13 districts of the Dhaka range, 111 in 11 districts under the Chittagong range, 64 in 10 districts of the Khulna range, 36 in 4 districts of the Mymensingh range, 46 in 6 districts of the Barisal range, 39 in 4 districts of the Sylhet range, 71 in 8 districts of the Rajshahi range, and 62 in 8 districts of the Rangpur range.
Earlier, on November 26, the Ministry of Home Affairs appointed Superintendents of Police (SPs) in 64 districts through a similar lottery process, under a notification signed by Deputy Secretary Mahbubur Rahman.