The government yesterday suspended the passing-out parade of new police officers from the 40th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), which was scheduled for today.

In a press release, the Chief Adviser's Office said the parade would not be held due to unavoidable reasons.

The parade was all set to take place with Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury visiting Rajshahi on a two-day trip to join the programme at Bangladesh Police Academy in Sarda, among other events.

While speaking to journalists during a visit to Border Guard Bangladesh's Rajshahi Headquarters yesterday, the adviser faced questions related to appointments during the fallen Awami League regime.

Jahangir said police officers appointed during the Awami League rule on party consideration, not on the basis of merit, may face action.

"An investigation is already underway. We have already taken one or two people into custody," the adviser said.

The BNP on Thursday demanded the cancellation of appointments of 2,064 cadre officers from the 43rd BCS exams held during the Awami League's tenure.

It also demanded cancellation of all proceedings related to the 44th, 45th and 46th BCS examinations.

The Public Service Commission recommended the appointment of 71 out of 1,929 officers from the 40th BCS for the police on November 1, 2022, after they had passed the preliminary, written and oral exams held between 2019 and 2021.

The parade would mean the batch of officers was ready to join their respective posts upon completion of a two-year training.