Home Ministry Opposed Proposal for Independent Police Commission

The home ministry has opposed the proposal to establish an independent police commission, National Consensus Commission (NCC) member Badiul Alam Majumdar said at a roundtable in Dhaka today.

Speaking at the discussion titled “Need for Police Reform: Civil Society Perspective” held at the NCC centre at 4:00pm, Badiul said amending the colonial-era Police Act alone would not resolve the force’s deep-rooted structural problems. He noted that the commission had recommended not only legal reforms but also the creation of an independent body to ensure professionalism, accountability, and citizen-oriented policing.

“Legal changes can be made through ordinances, but the commission itself is essential,” he said. “The police commission report was not discussed in the Consensus Commission. The chair repeatedly said reforms could be achieved through law, and no one disagreed. Some changes may indeed come through administrative decisions, but the proposal for an independent police commission was excluded. Among our 84 recommendations, it was included—and it deserves priority.”

“There was no note of dissent,” Badiul added. “But unfortunately, the home ministry opposed it.”

He explained that the proposed commission would be a nine-member body, including two women, chaired by a retired judge, and representing the judiciary and civil society. While not a constitutional body, he stressed, it must be independent. “Constitutional status alone does not guarantee independence—the Election Commission is the prime example,” he said, pointing to its failure to demonstrate autonomy despite legal safeguards.

Badiul said political parties have argued that reforms can be enacted through law without constitutional amendments, and civil society has placed its trust in them. “We hope they will form a commission that truly makes the police accountable and citizen-friendly,” he noted.

He also highlighted public frustration with police harassment: “If you ask 10 people on the street, most will say they’ve been harassed or know someone who has. I myself have faced it.”

Recalling a mob attack on his home during the previous government’s tenure, Badiul said police refused to register his case without “orders from above.” He had to file a general diary, which was later turned into a case. The chargesheet, he said, falsely implicated Dr Kamal Hossain and others in a conspiracy. After a change in government, a new chargesheet was filed, dropping the actual perpetrators.

“The attack happened the day Shahidul Alam was arrested and the helmeted force cracked down on the road safety movement. To this day, there has been no justice. It is injustice in the name of justice,” he said.

Badiul concluded by warning that without a change in political culture, neither laws nor commissions would bring meaningful reform. “If we don’t change our political culture, we’ll create institutions and pass laws, but they won’t work. We’ll only be disappointed again,” he said.