We are at a loss why police should open fire on agitating students and teachers. Holding rallies and voicing demands are part of the constitutional rights of the people and the students were not doing anything unlawful. What makes us further worried about is police excesses in view of the fact that the Supreme Court has clearly barred such police excesses in its recent landmark judgment on Section 54 of Code of Criminal Procedure but it appears that police are not paying heed to it and indiscriminately abusing their power. They are even provoking people to take law and order in their hands as is evident from a Suo Moto of a High Court Bench on Sunday asking Chapainawabganj Superintendent of Police to explain his order to people to smash and kill anyone to be found in stealing or such other crimes. It only shows that until and unless police restraint their behaviour and the excesses like the firing on protesting teachers and students at Phulbaria and extend cooperation to implement the court order, safety of life and property of common people will never be protected. They will continue to die in the streets while police will continue to enjoy impunity from answering their crimes.
There is a growing speculation that police acted because of their political linkage to local MPs and Administration, which may have been feeling embarrassed for the movement questioning nationalization of another college set up only few years ago instead of their own. We believe that the government would take its decision which college to be nationalized or not. Students and teachers have their right to make their case. But why police would open fire and kill people is just a case of barbarity and the concerned government authorities must investigate it to punish the over-enthusiastic policemen. We demand a judicial enquiry against the killing.
