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The report also recommended replacing the Police Act of 1861 and the Police Regulations of Bengal with laws compliant with human rights.

The police headquarters had also proposed forming an independent commission like that of Sri Lanka. This model envisions a commission comprising 11 members -- a retired Appellate Division judge or a retired IGP as the chair, four MPs from ruling and opposition parties, and four independent personalities, including a woman and a rights activist.

The serving IGP would be the member secretary, while the home secretary would be an ex-officio member.

The commission would have sweeping powers to ensure the accountability and neutrality of law enforcers, make transfers, promotions, and appointments within the force transparent, and ensure that both the force and its members remain accountable. It would also oversee the management of complaints against the police.

The Police HQ cited the example of the mass uprising in Sri Lanka and the ouster of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, during which the police did not use lethal force on protesters and, in turn, did not face public wrath or lose their morale.

“That is because Sri Lanka’s police are controlled by an independent commission,” said a top officer involved in drafting the PHQ proposal.

The Police Reform Commission sent its proposals to the ministry on December 5.

Senior officials of the home ministry held a meeting on December 29, chaired by home secretary Nasimul Ghani, to review the report. The ministry then sent its opinion in writing to the Police Reform Commission, which then attached it to the full report and submitted it to the government. The report was published online by the cabinet division in January.

Ghani neither responded to calls made by this correspondent nor replied to a text message.

Officials familiar with the matter said the home ministry objected to the independent police commission because it proposes an “arrangement akin to placing the secretary under the police chief, despite the fact that the senior secretary or secretary of the ministry is the [current] controlling authority of the force”.

The reform commission said whether the proposed commission should be a statutory body under an act or a constitutionally structured institution should be decided based on expert opinion. Additionally, the composition of the police commission, its scope of work, constitutional or legal obligations, and other relevant aspects require further analysis and examination, it added.