MEHERPUR — Joy is spreading through ordinary families in Meherpur after nine young men landed jobs in the police force on merit, paying just 240 taka each in a recruitment drive that officials described as fully transparent and impartial.
For years, police recruitment in the district has drawn complaints, but this round was completely clean, officials said. The nine youths who won constable positions include sons of van pullers, farmers and day laborers. The process showed that with genuine ability, government jobs are within reach, they said.
Among the newly hired is Majharul Islam, son of van puller Mintu Mollah of Bagoan village in Meherpur’s Mujibnagar upazila. Mintu waited at the main gate of the Meherpur police lines from Friday morning. When his son ran out and embraced him, both their faces lit up with pride and joy.
Mintu said he had spent his life pulling a van to support his family and had used that same van to take Majharul to school. He never imagined his son would one day join the police force. “My life’s hardship has not been in vain,” he said. “I have worked all these years to see this day.”
“I got the job for just 240 taka,” Majharul said. “From now on, I will take responsibility for the family. When I receive my first salary, I will hand it to my father. He worked tirelessly to put me through school. I want to share my joys and sorrows with him for the rest of my life.”
Rumman, son of farmer Akkas Ali of Dighirpara in Meherpur town, was also overjoyed at landing the job. Rumman said his family had spent their days in hardship and that running the household on his father’s limited income had been difficult. Now, with the job, the family’s struggle will ease considerably.
“It was my dream to serve in the police,” he said. “I want to ease my family’s hardship. By God’s grace, that chance has finally come. Now I will work hard and serve with honesty.”
The stories of all nine recommended recruits are similar, officials said. Some of their fathers are day laborers, others are farmers. All grew up in poverty, hardship and struggle. They share a common message: they did not have to pay bribes and earned the jobs on merit alone.
Another newly hired constable, Amit Hasan, said bribery had long been a common complaint in police recruitment. “This recruitment process has changed that perception,” he said. “Qualified young people have been encouraged.”
Mohammad Manjur Ahmed Siddiki, superintendent of police for Meherpur, said the recruitment was carried out with complete transparency. “Qualified candidates were selected without any financial dealings,” he said.
“We have given priority only to qualifications and merit,” he added. “That is why children from ordinary families have got the jobs. The duty of the police is to earn the trust of the public, and the first condition for earning that trust is a transparent recruitment process.”
A total of 555 candidates applied for the constable positions. They sat for written, oral, physical and health examinations. In the end, only nine were judged qualified and recommended for appointment. Most of those selected are young men from remote villages in Meherpur.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report