Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
A group of 321 dismissed trainee sub-inspectors (SIs) from the 40th batch entered the second day of their hunger strike in front of the Secretariat on Tuesday, demanding reinstatement in their jobs.
The protesters vowed to continue their indefinite hunger strike until their demands are met and warned that they may intensify their actions if necessary.
The dismissed SIs begun their sit-in protest in front of the Secretariat on Monday, demanding immediate action on their reinstatement.
After their demands remained unaddressed until 5pm, the group held a press conference announcing the start of their hunger strike.
Later that evening, at around 6:30pm, a four-member delegation of the dismissed SIs entered the Secretariat for a meeting with the authorities.
However, the protesters declared their hunger strike would continue after the meeting with the secretary of Public Administration yielded no resolution.
In a press conference, Alamgir Hossain, one of the dismissed SIs, said: “We, the 321 sub-inspectors of the 40th Cadet Sub-Inspector Batch of Bangladesh Police, were unjustly dismissed during our ongoing training. We staged a peaceful sit-in protest in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs on January 5 and 6, where the home secretary assured us that appropriate action would be taken. However, we have yet to see any visible progress on our demands.”
Earlier, the protesters claimed that their dismissal came after completing their training, without being assigned to their respective posts. They stated that a total of 321 individuals were dismissed in four phases, for various reasons.
Sajidul Islam, one of the protesters, said: “Instead of being appointed after completing our training, we were dismissed for minor reasons.
"For example, 203 individuals were dismissed for not having breakfast, 49 for failing to follow commands and standing idle on the field, 58 for being inattentive in class, three for not participating in marching class, and eight for making noise on the field.”
The dismissed SIs made it clear that they will continue their protest in front of the Secretariat until their demands for reinstatement are addressed.
