Promotions to the senior ranks of Bangladesh Police have remained stalled despite multiple vacancies and the completion of much of the administrative groundwork, even as officers in the administration cadre continue to move up the government hierarchy.

Five regular posts of Deputy Inspector General and another five at the Additional Inspector General level are currently vacant, according to officials familiar with the process. But promotions cannot move forward until the Superior Selection Board, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, meets to consider the candidates, sources said.

The delay at the top has created a bottleneck extending down the police hierarchy, holding up promotions to several ranks and fuelling frustration among officers who say their counterparts in the administration cadre have advanced more quickly.

Multiple sources at the Home Ministry and Police Directorate said career records, Annual Confidential Reports, intelligence vetting reports and other documents required for the promotions have already been sent to the ministry.

The Police Directorate has also submitted a list of 14 officers for consideration for promotion to Additional IGP and DIG, along with the necessary paperwork.

What remains, officials say, is the SSB meeting.

The police have 87 regular DIG posts, of which 82 are occupied, leaving five vacancies. Several officers from the 20th BCS batch are awaiting promotion to the rank.

There are 22 regular Additional IGP posts — 20 in Grade 2 and two in Grade 1 — with five currently vacant. The force also has five supernumerary Additional IGP positions. Several officers from the 17th and 18th BCS batches are waiting to move up.

The consequences of the delay extend beyond those senior officers. If five DIGs are promoted to Additional IGP, officials said, at least five additional DIG positions would immediately open, creating room for another round of promotions and, in turn, vacancies further down the hierarchy.

A decision involving a handful of officers at the top could therefore unlock a much broader chain of promotions across the force.

The government is also considering creating new police posts rather than relying on supernumerary promotions, according to multiple sources. Several teams at Police Headquarters are working on the proposal.

The issue has been complicated by personnel decisions inherited from the previous Awami League government, when officers were promoted to supernumerary positions beyond the number of regular posts.

Many of the officers now awaiting promotion say they had been passed over during the former government.

Since the July Revolution, 141 Additional IGPs, DIGs and Additional DIGs have been sent into retirement. But those departures have not produced as many regular vacancies as might have been expected because of the large number of supernumerary promotions made under the previous government.

The delay has become more conspicuous to police officers as promotions continue in the administration cadre.

Officers from the 25th BCS batch in the administration cadre were recently promoted to joint secretary, about a year after their counterparts from the 24th batch received the same promotion.

In the police, however, a large number of officers from the 24th BCS batch remain Additional DIGs. A Departmental Promotion Committee meeting has yet to be convened to consider officers from the 25th BCS batch for promotion to Additional DIG.

The disparity extends further down.

Many police officers from the 30th BCS batch have long been eligible for promotion to Superintendent of Police but remain in their existing ranks. In the administration cadre, a significant number of officers from the same BCS batch were promoted from senior assistant secretary to deputy secretary much earlier, even when corresponding posts were unavailable.

Police officials say the comparison has contributed to a growing perception of career disparity between cadres and frustration within the force.

“If you have to wait year after year for promotion despite working day and night to maintain law and order, it is natural to become frustrated,” a DIG-ranked officer told Daily Waadaa on condition of anonymity.

Another officer said promotion was about more than higher pay.

“Promotion is not merely about financial benefits; it is also about recognising an officer’s motivation, performance and leadership,” the officer said.

Public administration analysts say prolonged delays can affect morale and create disparities among officers from the same BCS batches, though they stress that promotions should be based strictly on merit, seniority, disciplinary records and established government rules.

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