IAWP 2013 Awards Program
Excellence in Performance
Nominee Bio
Al-Beli Afifa is a six and a half year police officer, with the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police, now serving
in the Police Headquarters of the Bangladesh Police as Additional Superintendent in the establishment division.
She began her career with the police after studying Mathematics in the University of Dhaka. After graduating in
2004 and having a master degree in Applied Mathematics from the same university in 2005 she joined the police in
2006 and was appointed as an Assistant Superintendent of Police. During her service time she also obtained her
MBA degree in 2012 from the University of Information Technology and Sciences with major in Human Resource
Management. In her career she attended many professional trainings and gained theoretical knowledge of
particular issues involving promoting women rights and prevent gender based violence which includes a training
program on reproductive rights and reproductive health in the Police Staff College, Bangladesh and “Basic Sexual,
Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Investigation Course” from Royal Malaysia Police College, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia in the year 2010. Later she served as the in charge of the Victim Support Center of the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police designed for female and child victims.
With this expertise in 2011 she moved to the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, where she used her
expertise in gender based crime prevention and investigation. She investigated cases of murder, cheating and
gender based violence where the victims were mostly female. In detective branch she was the assigned officer for
interrogating female suspect as well as female religious extremist. She delivered lectures for the students of Dhaka
Metropolitan Police Training Academy regarding gender based crime and supporting female victims in the society.
Afifa also conducted training for other police officers including Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s newly implemented
Crime Scene Investigation Team after receiving “Crime Scene Investigation” training by FBI Los Angeles team and
“Crime Scene Management Course” from Forensic Training Institute of Criminal Investigation Department. She also
investigated many sensational crime scene including shooting, strangulation, murder, theft and gender based
violence. She also investigated explosive incidents after acquiring additional expertise through “Explosive Incident
Countermeasures Training” from the USA and being a female explosive expert she worked in the Bangladesh
Police Bomb Disposal Unit.
Al-Beli Afifa is seen as a role model, both in the Police and within the communities of southern part of Bangladesh
where she was born. She has delivered presentations on cyber-crime to raise awareness to young pupils of school
level in renowned schools of Dhaka metropolitan city. She also has been invited back to her own district to speak to
students as a role model and successful professional. She has a substantial leadership portfolio, which is verified
through participation and successful graduation in international training and representing herself as the female
participant of Bangladesh and appreciation as well as achieved certificates from different institutions including of
US. She has performed a variety of roles throughout her detective career and her determination, hard work and
success over the years within the detective branch paved the way for other females.
Nomination
I am nominating Al-Beli Afifa for "Excellence in Performance Award". Afifa has exceptional and diverse investigative
experience in the Detective Branch which is the Major Investigation Department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
While assigned she started investigation with international drug smuggling, shooting, public corruption and
terrorism. She also supervised an investigation where there was evidence of possible terrorist attack on the
Embassy of the United States, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is the first lady officer in Bangladesh Police who
investigated terrorism incident attack under Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009.
Her one of the notable accomplishments was to investigate into the shooting and killing of Mohammad Wahidul
Hasan Milton which took place in Khilgaon Road, Motijheel, Dhaka on 4th June 2011. A case was filed for the
incident in the Khilgaon police station. Afifa started shadow investigation from the detective branch since the case
was in the police station which was assigned to do so. But after four months when the police station was not able to
detect and arrest the accused, Afifa took the whole charge of investigation with courage, dedication and
professionalism. In the face of great personal danger she identified Mr. Saroardi as the principal accused who was
a professional killer and had the previous record of killing, shooting and other criminal activities. Besides, Mr.
Saroardi had the shelter from an international criminal group. Consequently he was able to take shelter in the
neighboring country India for some months. So it was almost impossible to locate and arrest him. Moreover, the
investigation was a complex job as most of the involvement in crimes that Mr. Saroardi had committed previously in
the 1990s and 2000s, prior to commit murder. Afifa worked tirelessly on tracking down documentation of previous
criminal activities which were not existed any more. She went to court for documents in which the retention dates
had expired. She first went to the obvious sources such as respective local police stations and court offices where
offences took place but when that did not prove fruitful, she continued, inquiring with police officers and records of
Deputy Commissioner of Polices’ offices. At one point, the local court told her the documents for certain
prosecutions no longer existed. Afifa, with tenacity and her own understanding of the Courts inner workings was
un‐phased and got permission to go there to search for the documents herself. At last she got them for her
enormous effort. Then she started going to the place of occurrence and looking for the eye witnesses. But the
original witnesses were either persons who had been involved in the criminal lifestyle with the accused, often
co‐accused, or persons who were terrified of him and in one case, a former co‐accused who had also been in a
family friendship with him. Some witnesses were helping her in a little bit since they were his relatives. All of them
had moved on and were not interested in revisiting such a troubled time in their lives. Afifa did not give up. Visiting
the place of occurrence again and again she was able to convince most of these people to cooperate and provide
information about the offender’s past record. She made trips across the district Dinajpur and Chandpur mainly
where the victim’s families lived to get the authentic and secure important statements and developed important
relationships with victims and crucial witnesses in the matter.
Finally, for her continuous effort: combining the information of human sources and uses of mobile tracking
technology, Mr. Saroardi was arrested from Shantinagar, Dhaka found to be a Dangerous Offender, and given an
indeterminate sentence – the best possible result for the justice system. In the course of the reasons, Justice also
found Mr. Saroardi guilty of the three previously unproven offences such as attempt to murder, possession of illegal
arms and an arson case.
Several of the witnesses who came forward expressed their gratitude to Afifa since that Mr. Saroardi had to answer
to these charges and that they were able to get some closure on the matter. The victims and their families were
particularly grateful for Afifa’s unending support and assistance in this matter and expressed that throughout the
case. This case took many relentless hours of hard work by an officer who were alone for most of the part of
investigation. After spending all day working on the matter, Afifa spent many times including night in her room and
without any coworkers or assistances, had to stay late. During the course of this lengthy investigation and trial
process, Afifa continued her fulltime work as a Court Officer with the Court Police Service as well as helping out at
important local functions, showcasing her talents as an accomplished officer. The case took a significant toll on her.
Not only was it difficult and time‐consuming work, but emotionally and mentally draining. She struggled with the
potential implications of seeking cooperation from people who were so clearly and justifiably fearful of Mr Saroardi.
The safety of the witnesses was, and continues to be, a paramount concern for her. She has continued to keep in
touch with the witnesses and victims on this matter to ensure they are doing okay. In addition, she had to consider
her own personal safety during the investigation and prosecution of this matter. Deputy Police Commissioner of
Detective Branch Md. Monirul Islam often said that this was an investigation where it actually holds true.
Afifa went above and beyond the call of duty in performing her job. Her work on this matter and other matters
exemplifies many of the characteristics that go to the heart of law enforcement: striving for justice, hard work,
persistence despite obstacles, providing protection, and compassion.