In an effort to maintain updated information, including political affiliations, of senior government officials, Bangladesh Police has taken the initiative to create a database.
As part of this effort, the Special Branch (SB) of the police's Internal Affairs Division has sent letters to all district police superintendents across the country, requesting the information.
However, the letter has sparked mixed reactions among government officials.
The letter sent by the Special Branch to police superintendents specifies that information on government officials in Grade 5 and above should be provided.
It said: “The Special Branch is one of the leading intelligence agencies of the Bangladesh Police, collecting the most reliable information through its extensive nationwide network. However, due to the lack of systematic preservation of the collected data, delays occur in preparing and sending intelligence reports.
“In today’s competitive environment, all intelligence agencies of the country are emphasizing strategic intelligence management. The Special Branch has also undertaken an initiative to create a comprehensive database of critical information about the state by coordinating with all field units to enhance efficiency,” the letter read.
The letter further said: “In this context, you are hereby instructed to urgently send information in the prescribed format regarding government officials (Grade 5 and above) with permanent addresses in your jurisdiction to the Special Branch's central database.”
The prescribed format seeks information on 12 aspects: the official’s full name; names of parents, spouse; BCS batch number; the ministry, agency, or department they work in; their designation; current and permanent addresses; date of birth; mobile number and NID number; political ideology; any positive or negative information; and any case or general diary (GD) records. An additional section is provided for comments.
Several officials, speaking anonymously, expressed concerns.
They said that the Ministry of Public Administration oversees government officials and is the only authority that can request such information. They argued that if this ministry instructs the police to collect specific information, only then should the police proceed in this manner.
No official statement was available from the police. However, a senior police official, speaking anonymously, downplayed the issue, saying, “Collecting information is a routine task for intelligence agencies.”
He suggested that the request was made solely to enhance efficiency.
Typically, all information about government officials is maintained by the Ministry of Public Administration, which serves as their supervisory authority. When approached for comment, Md. Mahbub-ul-Alam, Additional Secretary of the Administration Division of the ministry, said: “There is no provision for collecting such information in this manner. Information is only sought in specific cases, such as for promotions. It is not customary to request it indiscriminately.”
