Rejected Once, Recommended for Police Cadre: BUP’s Safi on His 46th BCS Journey

Safi Mahmud Ucchas of Cumilla has been recommended for appointment as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in the Police Cadre of the 46th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS). He passed the 45th BCS preliminary examination but later succeeded in the 46th BCS.

Safi’s ancestral home is in Rajapur of Burichang Upazila in Cumilla. His father is Md Safiqul Islam and his mother is Mahmuda Akter Sheuli. He has a younger sister, Srijony, and is married to Zannatul Fardouse Ety.

Safi completed his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) from Ideal School and College, Dhaka, and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) from Adamjee Cantonment College. He later completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in International Relations from Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).

He is currently working at Uttoron Career and Skills Academy.

‘I never gave up despite low marks’

Speaking to The Daily Campus about the challenges he faced during his BCS preparation, Safi said frustration was his biggest obstacle.

“The main obstacle in my preparation path was frustration. As part of my BCS exam preparation, I took a lot of practice tests where I often didn't get expected marks. As a result, a kind of frustration almost always worked in my mind. But even after getting low marks, I never gave up, and Alhamdulillah, at one point I managed to achieve my goal of passing the BCS,” he said.

Safi first appeared in the 45th BCS but could not pass the preliminary examination. He later appeared in the 46th BCS and was ultimately recommended for the Police Cadre.

Wife’s support throughout preparation

Safi said he got married while he was still a student and that his wife remained a strong source of support throughout his BCS preparation. “I got married as a student, long before the results. Throughout the entire preparation journey, my wife's support was with me. She had more self-confidence regarding my success than I did,” he said.

He also said his late father-in-law had been an honest police officer, making his recommendation for the Police Cadre particularly meaningful to him.

“So, I am delighted to be recommended for the police cadre. After getting the news of my result, relatives and acquaintances were all very happy. I received a lot of support from my family throughout my entire preparation time,” he said.

Received BCS result while travelling in Nepal

Safi said he learned about his BCS result while travelling in Nepal with his wife. “I actually like traveling. It turned out that I used to travel within Bangladesh, and sometimes outside the country as well; I have been to India too. So, there was a plan I had been making for the past year to travel abroad,” he said.

After getting married, he had planned to visit Nepal with his wife. He booked their tickets for a period after the BCS viva examination.

“The interesting fact is that on the day my BCS result was published, I was in Nepal. My wife and I were together that day. The environment was very beautiful. We had traveled all around Nepal and were supposed to fly back to Bangladesh the next day. We were in very good spirits, and in that state, we got the result! It was a very wonderful day for me,” Safi said.

He said his family traditionally celebrates good news with sweets. After learning about his result, his wife suggested that they buy sweets to celebrate with their family members.

“So, right after the result, my wife said, ‘Okay, we need to sweeten our mouths; when you go home, you will treat everyone to sweets, everyone at home is congratulating us.’ So what to do now? We went out to a local sweet shop in Nepal,” he said.

Father never imposed a career choice

Safi said his father never pressured him to pursue the BCS or become a cadre officer. “My father never imposed his opinions on setting my life goals. According to him, being honest in life should be the main purpose, whatever work I do,” he said.

“As a result, he never said, ‘Ucchas, you must become a cadre.’ Rather, whatever I chose as a profession, he was always satisfied with that.”

Safi’s recommendation for the Police Cadre in the 46th BCS marks his successful completion of a journey that began with disappointment in the 45th BCS preliminary examination but ultimately ended with his selection for the police service.