During the over one and a half decades, at least 4000 people have been killed in crossfire and in police custody across the country. Besides, many others have become the victims of abduction and enforced disappearance throughout the period.
Regardless of repeated demands from different quarters nationally and internationally to end the law enforcers impunity for extra-judicial killings, the government has been consistent in its refusal to acknowledge the complicity of certain members of its law enforcement agencies in such deaths and to take action against them. As per the country’s constitution, the responsibility the court of law is to lawfully try any person accused of a crime, not the law enforcers.
Media reports in a national daily on Saturday, quoting statistics of a human rights organization — Ain O Salish Kendro — said that a total of 951 people were killed in crossfire and in police custody during the past BNP period (2004-2006), 404 during the army-led caretaker government (2007-2008), and 2,525 during the Awami League government (July 2009 to June 2020). A record 466 people were killed through extra-judicial means alone the last year, presenting an extremely bleak picture of human rights situation in the country.
According to another human rights organization – Odhikar — from 2001 to 2020 up to June, a total of 4,002 people have been killed in crossfire and in police custody. Where in 2001, the number was just 44, while this year the number is already 158. Reports of extra-judicial killings spiked sharply following the incumbent government’s directive to launch an anti-narcotic drive on May 3, 2018 and its defiant stance that “no (drug) godfather will be spared”. Such killing is a total mockery with the country’s judicial system.
Indeed, the law enforcers are to identify the accused and work to bring them under the purview of justice. But when they (protectors) act beyond their powers, it severely hampers the rule of law and the course of justice.
The latest incident on the night of July 31, retired army officer Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan was shot dead at a police check-post on the Marine Drive Road between Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf. If the victim was not a former army officer, it would have passed off quietly. But it drew widespread public and media attention because the victim was not an ordinary man and the alleged offenders had been put on the dock.
Absence of Bangabandhu during the entire period of liberation struggle in the then West Pakistan, it was easy for irresponsible elements to make him believe that a bahini for secret killing in Bangladesh must be maintained under him. After the Pakistan army left Bangladesh safely politics of counter killing was a dangerous decision. Thus killing was the government’s state policy. This power was abused to make it social problem. Most of the secret killings were either politically promoted or used for extorting personal gain.
Not only law enforcing agency people abused killing politically but killing became an easy crime for personal benefit both for the police and the politicians. Privately also murder has become a social problem. Most saddened thing is some police officials have become dangerous criminals with no respect for life and law.
Things have to change if we want to have a civilised life for ourselves. There should be serious realisation that secret killing by state machinery is insanity producing killers to make us all unsafe. Punishing the killers only will not solve the problem. We have to abandon the killing political machine that produces the killers.
