The interim government is re-checking the background of 100 people who passed the 41st Bangladesh Civil Service Examination and were recommended for police jobs.

The second verification process will be conducted to re-examine the candidates’ political affiliations and whether they have links with militancy, according to police officers aware of the development.

The re-evaluation will determine whether these individuals will be recruited.

The background of these candidates has already been checked in a process known as a “police check”. Later, the Bangladesh Public Service Commission recommended that they be recruited as police officers.

They underwent a one-year basic training at the Bangladesh Police Academy in Sardah, Rajshahi.

The caretaker government recently faced criticism for suddenly postponing a passing out parade for 62 Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) even before the ceremony began on October 19.

On October 20, the Special Branch (SB) of the Police took the initiative to recheck the background of 100 candidates at the behest of the Police Headquarters (PHQ).

The SB is also examining the antecedents of seven other officers of 28, 35, 36 and 37 BCS batches. In August, the administration first let the seven officers go and then reappointed them, sources said.

Re-verification will also be done for 62 ASPs recruited through 40th BCS.

The SB verification wing will investigate their political affiliations and look into their schools, colleges, universities, hostels, friendships and whether they had links with militant organisations, sources said.

The order states that evaluation reports on candidates should be collected from people such as journalists, members of the public and police stations.

Specific information should also be collected about their birthday, national identification number, mobile number, email account, Facebook ID, Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN), passport number, parents’ names and professions them, the sources said.

The order also stated that the SB should complete the process as soon as possible.

Asked about the matter, Kamrul Hasan Mahmud, special superintendent (verification) of the SB said, “We are doing the verification as part of a regular process and on the directive of higher authorities. There is no specific reason behind it.”

The preliminary exam of the 41st BCS was held in March 2021 and the written exams in November-December of that year. The viva-voce ended last June. The PSC recommended 2,520 candidates for jobs in various cadres in the month of August this year.

Of the successful candidates, 323 were recommended for administration, 100 for police, 25 for foreign services, 108 as assistant surgeons under BCS health, 171 as dentists, 230 for agriculture, 88 for education, 36 for forest, 76 for livestock, 38 for information, 60 for taxes and 465 candidates for other cadres.

The role of the police during the mass uprising that led to the fall of the government came under intense scrutiny. The force faced public outrage as officers used excessive force to quell the protests. Many members of the police opened fire on the protests, killing hundreds and leaving many others with life-changing injuries.