A total of 227 candidates recommended for recruitment by the Public Service Commission (PSC) were found unfit for public service based on intelligence reports, according to the Ministry of Public Administration.

Additionally, 40 recommended candidates failed to appear for the mandatory health test, resulting in their disqualification, as confirmed by the new appointment wing of the ministry.

As a result, 1,896 candidates were eventually appointed, the ministry said, and a gazette notification was issued to finalize the appointments.

The clarification came after criticism on social media that candidates were excluded from the final recruitment list based on their religious identity.

A notification signed by Mohammad Ajal Hussain, Senior Assistant Secretary, New Appointments Branch, Ministry of Public Administration, has detailed the recruitment process for the 43rd BCS exam.

The Public Service Commission had initially recommended 2,163 candidates for various cadre posts on January 25, 2024.

Following the provisions of the BCS Recruitment Rules, 1981, pre-role verification was conducted by the Special Branch of the Bangladesh Police and the Deputy Commissioners of the respective districts.

Subsequently, on 15 October 2024, recruitment notifications were issued for 2,064 candidates, of which 40 were absent from the medical examination and 59 were subject to temporary reservations based on reports from other agencies.

Concerns about the transparency of the recruitment process prompted state intelligence agencies, National Security Intelligence and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence to conduct further background checks on all 2,163 candidates. The review flagged objections against 227 candidates, citing issues with their pre-certification of roles. These candidates were temporarily declared unfit for appointment and subjected to further enquiry.

Additionally, 40 candidates who missed the health test were disqualified. This disqualified a total of 267 candidates, reducing the final number of successful recruits to 1,896.

The recruitment notifications for these candidates were released on 30th December 2024.

The Public Administration Ministry’s notification emphasized that revision applications from 227 provisionally ineligible candidates are being accepted.

The opportunity to appeal is open to all candidates who wish to remove objections or seek re-examination.