Editorial Desk :
The blazing question of crossfire killings by our law enforcers is once again raised against the backdrop of killings of Nurul Islam Marzan and his aide Saddam Hossain. Marzan was reportedly the operational commander of last year’s Holey Artisan Bakery attack, and Saddam, an accused murderer of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi; nevertheless, both were shot dead by the counter-terrorism police near Mohammadpur’s Beribandh vicinity, the day before yesterday.
Like many times before, we are forced to ask – whether our law enforcement agencies have any civil, professional or constitutional rights to exercise such killings of suspected criminals. Surely, they do not have. Our Constitution guarantees that nobody can be deprived of his life without due process of law.
Humans are the easy target for anybody to kill. There is no need for highly
trained professional police. Whatever the term may be, the long-list of extra-judicial killings occurring in recent times has not only seriously diminished the friendly face of the police to our people, but has also made our law enforcement more and more difficult. Recent statistics have revealed truth, shocking enough to instil an ordinary mind with ghastly apprehensions.
According to a reliable source, total number of extra-judicial killings between the years 2001 and 2016, now stands anywhere between 2685 and 2700, perhaps even more. More often than not, it is either RAB or police and now counter-terrorism units, who are frequently, mentioned in the news reports, but in reality – at least some twenty-four various affiliates of the country’s main law enforcement wing the police and also the defence establishments are in same way connected and responsible for all the killings.
The new breed of victims of wholesale killing are now markedly, alleged, ‘listed and un-listed’ extremists, Jihadists and fundamentalists. This new definition commenced after the last July Gulshan Café attacks.
The point, however, is about the ability of the prosecution to prove in a court of law who are what. But such a situation in which anybody can be killed and called extremist creates panic in the minds of the general public and helps the dangerous elements to be more dangerous because real dangerous ones remain free.
With regard to the killings of Marzan and his aide, following all unexplained and unjustified killings in the shape of busting terrorist hideouts – the government is repeatedly violating a very crucial article of our constitution. Article 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh clearly states: “To enjoy the protection of law, and to be treated in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within Bangladesh, and in particular no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law.”
This Article should make the law enforcers of sacred responsibility to save lives. It is our strong belief that by police being not careful of the law, crimes will not be stopped. We want to help police for our own safety and security. What we want to emphasise is that our police must act as law-enforcers and not enforcers of power politics.
We want our police to be pro-people and pro-law.
The blazing question of crossfire killings by our law enforcers is once again raised against the backdrop of killings of Nurul Islam Marzan and his aide Saddam Hossain. Marzan was reportedly the operational commander of last year’s Holey Artisan Bakery attack, and Saddam, an accused murderer of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi; nevertheless, both were shot dead by the counter-terrorism police near Mohammadpur’s Beribandh vicinity, the day before yesterday.
Like many times before, we are forced to ask – whether our law enforcement agencies have any civil, professional or constitutional rights to exercise such killings of suspected criminals. Surely, they do not have. Our Constitution guarantees that nobody can be deprived of his life without due process of law.
Humans are the easy target for anybody to kill. There is no need for highly
trained professional police. Whatever the term may be, the long-list of extra-judicial killings occurring in recent times has not only seriously diminished the friendly face of the police to our people, but has also made our law enforcement more and more difficult. Recent statistics have revealed truth, shocking enough to instil an ordinary mind with ghastly apprehensions.
According to a reliable source, total number of extra-judicial killings between the years 2001 and 2016, now stands anywhere between 2685 and 2700, perhaps even more. More often than not, it is either RAB or police and now counter-terrorism units, who are frequently, mentioned in the news reports, but in reality – at least some twenty-four various affiliates of the country’s main law enforcement wing the police and also the defence establishments are in same way connected and responsible for all the killings.
The new breed of victims of wholesale killing are now markedly, alleged, ‘listed and un-listed’ extremists, Jihadists and fundamentalists. This new definition commenced after the last July Gulshan Café attacks.
The point, however, is about the ability of the prosecution to prove in a court of law who are what. But such a situation in which anybody can be killed and called extremist creates panic in the minds of the general public and helps the dangerous elements to be more dangerous because real dangerous ones remain free.
With regard to the killings of Marzan and his aide, following all unexplained and unjustified killings in the shape of busting terrorist hideouts – the government is repeatedly violating a very crucial article of our constitution. Article 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh clearly states: “To enjoy the protection of law, and to be treated in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within Bangladesh, and in particular no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law.”
This Article should make the law enforcers of sacred responsibility to save lives. It is our strong belief that by police being not careful of the law, crimes will not be stopped. We want to help police for our own safety and security. What we want to emphasise is that our police must act as law-enforcers and not enforcers of power politics.
We want our police to be pro-people and pro-law.
