Odhikar, a local right body, on Saturday expressed deep concern over the rising incidents of extrajudicial killing, kidnapping and force disappearance across the country and urged the government to take effective steps to stop such heinous crime immediately.
Criticizing the government for its failure to establish the rights of the common man, it also said that extrajudicial killings continued despite repeated assurance to stop this and the declaration of ‘zero’ tolerance on extrajudicial killings by the government during the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council.
At least 87 people became the victim of extrajudicial killings and 19 people have been abducted from January to April of the current year, according to a statistics of Odhikar.
By this time, 110 people have killed in political violence, 17 died in jail and 46 persons died in mob beating.
Of the extrajudicial killings, 39 were killed in January, 16 in February, 14 in March and 18 in April, the report said.
A total of 54 persons fell victims of ‘crossfire,’ three were killed in police custody, 28 persons were shot dead by members of joint forces and two persons were beaten to death by them.
According to Odhikar, one person fell the victim of abduction in January, six in February, two in March and 10 in April.
Extrajudicial killing in the name of ‘crossfire’ or ‘encounter’ and torture in custody are going apace marking the severest form of violation of rights by the state machinery, law enforcers in particular, it said.
“Incidents of extrajudicial killing, political and other types of murder and abduction appeared to have increased alarmingly in the capital and other parts of the country in recent days,” said Odhikar, adding, “Incidents of killing are reported almost every day and in several cases people are either being killed or found dead after being picked up”.
It added: In most abduction cases, the victim families are raising fingers at the law enforcing agencies, although the concerned agencies are rejecting their allegation saying that they are not involved in the cases of kidnapping or abduction.
Demanding an immediate end to the extrajudicial killings, Odhikar also said that killing particularly by state forces could in no way be accepted. It also insists on resolution of conflicts of all kinds and gravity through due judicial and constitutional process.
