AS it appears that students and rights activists in the capital and at most other places have joined the protest against the mysterious killing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a student of Victoria College in Comilla on March 20. The body of the 19-year old girl who was also a theatre activist was found in a bush inside Comilla Cantonment deepening the mystery. Investigators believe she was raped before being killed. The incident showed once again the collapse of the law and order situation in the country when the criminals are at large to kill people at their will. What is most surprising is that why the culprits did not feel that crimes like rape and murder inside the Cantonment area is highly risky and they can’t go undetected. The other question may be whether the security inside the Cantonment is not enough.
Daughter of an employee of the Cantonment Board, the recovery of the body from inside Cantonment area has raised many questions suggesting that the culprits may have come from around but it is yet to be identified. Moreover the incident has raised question about security of people in the Cantonment area, which is not like any other unprotected area. The girl was kidnapped from around and was raped and killed. How the Cantonment Management will answer why its security eyes failed. The security at Cantonment needs to be foolproof and the vulnerability suggests the military base itself and its people are not well protected either.
What makes many wonder is why the Cantonment Authorities and police have so far failed to identify the killers. It is already one week the killing remained clueless in an area where every movement was supposed to be watched. As is natural, the incident has already sparked protest in social media and in other forms throughout the country bringing pressure on the authorities concerned to unlock the mystery. Students of Comilla Victoria College and Comilla University laid siege on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway over last two days paralyzing the traffic with the Port city. At Dhaka, Gonojagoron Manch blocked Shahbagh intersection last evening demanding immediate arrest of the killers and putting them on trial. Roadblocks, march on highways and human chain were also held in other districts and educational institutions.
Ill-fated victims like Tonu capture headlines almost on daily basis. What is frightening is that criminals are not bothered to respect human lives and rather taking sadists satisfaction in such killing. Since the government is not in a position to execute laws where police are busy in haunting people critical to government, criminals are taking the advantage. Media outcry is not enough to desist criminals from committing crime. But how long such killing will continue is the question.
