Weak judiciary helps the government to be arbitrary and police law-breakers for creating lawlessness in the country. The Constitution has empowered the courts to guarantee that no life will be taken without due process of law. The police are not above the Constitution. The Constitution guarantees that no action detrimental to life, liberty or property of any person (foreigners included) shall be taken except in accordance with law. Protection of law is a fundamental right of every individual. The killing of the suspected killer of blogger Avijit on Sunday in police crossfire in the city and another killing in a Madaripur jute field early this week appear to suggest that extra-judicial killings are rapidly on the rise denying people’s constitutional right to life.At least 17 persons lost their lives in police encounters over the past 13 days must be worrying for all.What is surprising is that every time an accused dies in police encounter, police claim they had come under attack during raid by cohorts of the accused that forced them to open fire. The growing extra-judicial killing has caught the attention of Chief Justice Mr Surendra Kumar Sinha who said if victims’ families seek court action they would surely look into the cases. His Lordship’s assurance is encouraging. Our view is that for every extra-judicial killing there has to be a court case; self defence has to be established in a court of law. Extra-judicial killing affects whole society. The obligation to start such judicial scrutiny should be that of the court. Killing in the hands of police is a horror and not a protection of law. Police are a disciplined force of law. They have no power to kill anybody, not even a killer unless justified as self defence. Police are given guns for the protection of life of the citizens and not primarily for protection of his own life. What appears more shocking is the killing of the young college student in police encounter in Madaripur when he was on police remand and his safety was the responsibility of the police. The courts have become complicit in his killing, because remand was allowed illegally. The Supreme Court has prohibited remand in the first time but surprisingly the lower court granted such remand that ended in the death of the boy in the hands of the police.One blunder ended in another and we believe that the apex court should investigate into the matter suo motto to know what had happened.Police have also arrested over 14,000 people in the crack down against the so-called militants, but as per police report the number of suspected militants stood below two hundred. Such arrests have also taken place ignoring another order of the Supreme Court, which says arrest could only be carried out under an arrest warrant by a court. This directive should be helpful for the police to avoid political pressure for arresting anybody. No government can be arbitrary without abusing police power. The gun down of the prime accused of the murdered blogger Avijit in the city on Sunday has caught his father with surprise. He said police had told him earlier that the accused has left the country, but now they not only got him but also instantly killed him. The entire matter became totally confusing when the family and neighbours of the accused in Avijit killing said his real name is Mukul Rana who was working in Dhaka. Plain clothed men picked him up from near his father-in-law’s village home at Jessore four months ago and his whereabouts were not known ever since. DB police claimed he had several names adding to the confusion whether they had chased the right person or killed the wrong one. Only transparent investigation and fair trial could end such confusion. We have to admit that if our police, our government and civil society do not protect the Constitution and the rights guaranteed, then we should all be ashamed for failure to protect our life and freedom. We cannot expect other countries will not take advantage of our incompetence and they will help us to be a free people of a free country.
