Harunor, Nurul among 18 police officials suspended over absenteeism

Three of the officials are DIGs, six are additional DIGs, and four are superintendents of police

File photo

Eighteen police officials, including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch chief Harunor Rashid and former Dhaka Range deputy inspector general (DIG) Syed Nurul Islam, have been temporarily suspended over allegations of failing to report for duty at their workplaces.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice to the effect on Sunday.

Three of the officials are DIGs, six are additional DIGs, four are superintendents of police, four are additional superintendents of police, and one is an assistant superintendent of police.

The notice said that the officials had been suspended from duty from the date mentioned next to their names as they had been accused of punishable offences under the Government Employees (Discipline and Appeal) Rules. However, they will still be given a subsistence allowance during the period of their suspension.

The police officials have not been going to their workplaces since the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024. Rumours say some of them have fled abroad.

Several dozen police officials had previously been suspended for failure to appear at their workplaces, but it has taken over a year since the political changeover for action to be taken against Harunor, who made headlines for his actions during the July Uprising.