Dismissed trainee SIs stage human chain protest in front of Secretariat

Hundreds of dismissed trainee sub-inspectors staged a human chain protest in front of the Secretariat on Sunday, demanding reinstatement to their jobs.

The protesters, numbering over a hundred, are part of the 40th Outside Cadet batch and were dismissed from the Bangladesh Police Academy in Sardah, Rajshahi. They were accused of breaching discipline during their training. However, many of the trainees have alleged that the accusations were baseless or unjustified.

They stood in front of the Secretariat with placards bearing slogans like "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and "Give my identity or shoot me in the chest. It's either my job or death".

Ayesha Siddiqa, one of the dismissed trainees, said, "We were not on the field for three days starting September 29 due to an illness that often affects women during training. Despite this, I was served with a show-cause notice claiming I skipped breakfast, and soon after, I was expelled."

Another trainee, Anamika Sarker, said, "I received a show-cause notice during the three-day illness period. Despite submitting medical documents, I was called back but was later served another notice and dismissed for a violation I never committed."

The grievances of the dismissed trainees stem from their expulsion on October 23 last year, just a month before their scheduled graduation. A total of 252 trainees were expelled for alleged breaches of discipline. On November 4, an additional 58 trainees faced similar dismissals.

Deepta Prashad Mitra, coordinator of the protest, vowed to continue their movement until their demands were met.

"We are not going to back down until we get a fair resolution," he said.

The protesters have called on higher authorities to review their cases and provide accountability. They insist their dismissals were unjustified and are seeking immediate reinstatement to their roles.