An IGP’s eye-watering corruption takes the lid off patronage politics

May 29, 2024

DHAKA – The massive wealth accumulated by a top police official, whose primary task is to maintain law and order, is hard to fathom. The scale and magnitude of the former IGP’s wealth acquisition make it clear that it is not possible through petty grafts, but rather requires extortion and corruption at the highest levels. To understand this issue, we must look back at the tenure of the former police chief Benazir Ahmed.

Benazir uniquely served in three of the most coveted roles in the police force: Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), and Inspector General of Police (IGP). These positions ideally require extraordinary competence, integrity, and professional excellence.

Did you know that he was awarded the Integrity Award for the year 2020-21 in recognition of the integrity he displayed in his profession? According to a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) report, on June 28, 2022, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal handed over the award to him in an official ceremony, which included a certificate, a crest and money equivalent to one month’s basic salary. Given recent revelations, it raises questions about whether he was rewarded for actual merit or if this reflects deeper issues within the governance system. One is forced to wonder what kind of vetting process was used to verify the integrity of the top cop, as only a few months before this award, on the very day that the US announced its sanctions, Benazir Ahmed had hosted quite an extraordinarily lavish reception marking the wedding of one of his daughters.

Many of Benazir Ahmed’s public statements since assuming high office aligned more with the ruling party’s political stance than with the