More than 1.5 lakh police personnel will undergo training for election duty

Officials said today that over 1.5 lakh policemen will receive training to carry out duties aimed at ensuring security during the upcoming national elections scheduled for February next year.

“We will provide comprehensive training to 1.5 lakh or more police personnel to guarantee free, fair, neutral and peaceful elections,” Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Quazi Zia Uddin told BSS.

Uddin, who oversees human resource development at the police headquarters (PHQ), expressed optimism that the upcoming polls would be a “landmark” in the nation’s history. He noted that the HR department has prepared nine training modules over the past three months, incorporating input from election experts and legal professionals.

The DIG praised the course as “wonderful,” crediting its development to the leadership of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Additional IGP for HR. He said the modules are designed to equip personnel with the skills needed to handle any law and order challenges during the elections.

Bangladesh Police will use 130 smaller and four major training centres across the country to implement the programme. As part of the training resources, two documentaries—a 15-minute audiovisual and a nine-minute film—alongside a booklet, have been produced.

So far, 150 master trainers have been trained at the PHQ in Dhaka between August 31 and September 2. Plans are underway to develop 1,292 more master trainers across 19 police training centres nationwide. These trainers will, in turn, prepare over 1.5 lakh police personnel for election duties.

“All trainers will undergo real-time mock drills simulating potential election-day scenarios,” Uddin said, adding that these exercises are intended to ensure comprehensive security during the polls.

A formal launch ceremony for the training programme is scheduled later this week at Rajarbagh Police Lines, he added.