DHAKA: Bangladesh’s police have unveiled new uniforms in a symbolic bid to signal reform and rebuild deeply eroded public trust, just weeks ahead of the first elections since a mass uprising.

The police force was cast into turmoil after the 2024 overthrow of the autocratic government of now-convicted fugitive Sheikh Hasina, which left at least 1,400 dead and thousands maimed — many by police gunfire.

“Bangladesh Police have been facing an unprecedented crisis,” police spokesman Sahadat Hossaine said. “The policymakers suggested… that a new uniform may bring a positive change.” Police are now trading the familiar turquoise-and-blue uniforms for iron-grey shirts and chocolate-brown trousers.

Whether a new colour scheme can mend a shattered reputation remains doubtful.

“Whenever I see a policeman, I feel like biting his flesh off. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over this hatred,” said Nazma Akhtar, 48, whose 17-year-old son Golam Nafeez was killed during the uprising.

Akhtar’s son was shot, denied entry to a hospital, and died from blood loss on August 4, 2024.

“How can a new uniform change their attitude?” Akhtar added. “I saw them beating teachers just for demanding a pay rise.” The nation of 170 million people is expected to hold elections in February 2026, with the security forces critical to ensuring they are peaceful.

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death by a Dhaka court on Monday, for charges that included ordering the security forces to use deadly force against protesters.

Hasina’s bid to cling to power failed after she ordered the army to crush the protests, and they refused.

Vandalism and arson attacks in the chaotic aftermath of her fall targeted roughly 450 of the country’s 600 police stations, according to officials.

“They left the police stations immediately after the previous government stepped down, and now they are struggling to get back on their feet”, Hossaine said.

Researchers have documented widespread brutality by police during the uprising.

That included the killing of unarmed teenage student Ashiqur Rahman Hridoy, who was “sandwiched between two groups of police and shot from point-blank range,” Fawzia Afroz of Tech Global Institute policy group said.

Around 1,500 police personnel now face criminal charges, mostly for murder, with dozens in detention. The former police chief, who pleaded guilty in the same trial as Hasina, was sentenced to five years.

Police say an estimated 55 senior officers, also wanted for murder, have fled to India.

But serving officers express their own frustrations: 44 officers were also killed during the unrest, yet the interim government has granted “legal immunity” to protesters. Sultana Razia watched as her husband, a police inspector, was beaten to death by a mob in the chaos after Hasina fled.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2025