From constable to ASP: Abdul Hakim's unprecedented rise through the police ranks

Just a few days before his Secondary School Certificate examinations in 2010, Abdul Hakim had lost his father. His family had very little to spare at the time and life would be riddled with hardships for Hakim and his four siblings over the next few years.

Left with few other options, Hakim decided to join the police force as a constable after finishing high school in 2013. Nine years on, he is on the verge of completing a 'historic' rise through the ranks.

Having started at the very bottom of the police hierarchy, he has now been recommended for the post of assistant superintendent of police, the highest rank of entry into the force, in the final results of the 40th BSC exams.

As word of his accomplishment spread, Hakim's mobile phone was inundated with calls from media outlets and television channels on Thursday.

"I'm not able to take everyone's calls. Journalists from many channels are calling for interviews," said Hakim, who is currently attached to the Special Security and Protection Battalion, a specialised unit of Bangladesh Police that offers protection to VIPs, as a Nayek.

The scale of his achievement is unheard of, according to many officers in the police force.

The fact that he overcame the daunting challenge of the BCS exam all while serving in the police has also piqued the curiosity of most.

As he reflected on his life, his words painted a journey that was bookmarked by grief and adversity which fuelled a dogged determination to succeed.

A LEAP OF FAITH

The death of his father, a wounded freedom fighter, had caused a great deal of anguish and Hakim had a hard time focussing on his studies afterwards. It affected his results badly.

His father's government allowance, ration for three people and his elder brother's meagre income were all that the large family had to survive on.

But Hakim would go on to pass his HSC exams and enter the police force. His first posting was in Gazipur’s industrial police unit, where there was not a great deal of pressure on the officers, he said.

After a few hours of duty, he would have the rest of the day to himself. At the time, he gained admission to Narsingdi Government College and graduated from there in 2016.

But the path to graduation was not as simple as it may sound. “I spent all my free time studying,” Hakim said.

In 2015, he was transferred to Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Public Order Management Department. He used to stay at the POM barracks in Mirpur.

As his workload increased, it became harder for him to make time for his studies.

“I had to be on duty at different places after entering the DMP. I never had to work that hard in my three years with the industrial police."

At the time, he was in his final year of college and had been assigned to the Gabtoli area under the Aminbazar bridge -- an event that would shape the course of his life.

“There, I would be covered in mosquito bites. The nights were difficult to pass."

And that is when he resolved to work his way up the ranks come what may. If that didn't work out, he was willing to change his profession in order to have a better life. "I was interested in teaching.”

But Hakim was fated to remain in the police force. He would soon be promoted to the rank of Nayek and posted to the SSPBn after his graduation. “That gave me a lot of time to study. I had about 13-14 hours a day after my duty hours. I would stay up until 2am to study.”

“I used to rush to the morning roll calls, sleep-deprived, and be admonished by the on-duty SI. But I was determined to leave the job and go somewhere far.”

Hakim applied for a job at the health ministry in the meantime and was accepted. But he didn't get the necessary approval to make the switch.

“I took the test simply to assess my eligibility. I wasn’t sad about not being able to take the job. Rather, it made me more confident and strengthened my determination.”

APPLYING FOR BCS

Hakim applied for the 40th BCS exams in 2018 and passed the preliminary tests, bolstering his confidence further.

“It was time to put everything aside for this. Our colleagues were assigned with VIPs frequently and returned late at night.”

“With their permission, I stayed on regular duty. I was able to continue studying because I was in the protection battalion. I stayed with them until the BCS written exams and was posted to Gulshan Diplomatic Security Zone in December 2019.”

Hakim lost his mother right after that, but he kept up with his studies. “I attended viva-voce while I was posted in Gulshan on Mar 23 and the PSC halted the exams on Mar 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic. If my viva had been deferred, it would’ve been a problem. I was lucky that it didn’t happen.”

Hakim said he used to walk to Khilkhet from his barrack in Old Dhaka’s Abdul Gani Road to buy books in order to prepare for the test. He also bought magazines on current affairs.

“And I joined some BCS preparation groups on Facebook. I got many resources there and I studied them attentively.”

In his own words, the key to his success was devoting all his spare time to his studies.

Police later raised doubts about the veracity of the story. bdnews24.com publishes a new version: Police say Nayek Abdul Hakim lied about passing BCS exams to become an ASP