Memo sent to Ganabhaban to make Benazir IGP

A memo has been sent to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make RAB chief Benazir Ahmed the inspector general of police.

He has been heading the elite police force Rapid Action Battalion for around four and a half years.

At least two sources in the home ministry and Bangladesh Police confirmed the development to bdnews24.com on Tuesday.

Another two sources familiar with this matter also indicated that the RAB chief is almost certain to succeed the current IGP.

The 25-month tenure of IGP Mohammad Javed Patwary, an officer who is known to be trusted by Hasina, is ending on Apr 13.

There are discussions that he might be given some other charge on contract.

The home ministry source said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal signed the memo on Tuesday after it was prepared on Monday.

It was sent to the Ganabhaban in the afternoon, another source in the Bangladesh Police confirmed.

The home ministry source said a separate memo was also sent for the prime minister’s approval to appoint Abdullah Al-Mamun, the incumbent chief of police’s Criminal Investigation Department, as the director general of the RAB.

Before taking the charge of RAB on Jan 7 in 2015, Benazir had worked as the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He is scheduled to retire on Sept 30, 2022.

Benazir joined the law enforcement as assistant superintendent of police in February 1988. He had worked in the UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Born in Gopalganj, Benazir received his master’s degree from the Dhaka University’s English Department. He also has a PhD in business administration from the university’s Faculty of Business Studies.

CID chief Mamun joined police on Dec 20, 1989.

Born at Sreehail village in Sunamganj’s Shalla, the police office will retire on Jan 11, 2023.