Staff Reporter :
Both the treasury and opposition bench lawmakers on Tuesday in parliament urged the law enforcement agencies to kill rapists in “crossfire” in a bid to end the social crime that has increased alarmingly in recent times across the country.
Taking the floor on point of order, they also demanded the government to amend the law incorporating provision of death penalty for the rapists.
They also urged the Speaker of the House to fix a day in the parliament to discuss how to get rid of the social crime and why the number of rape incidents has increased in the recent times.
Participating in an unscheduled discussion, ruling Awami League MP Tofail Ahmed said, “Its right that we need a tougher law. But if we can take instant actions through “crossfire” in case of drug-related issue, then why we can’t follow it in case of rape incident,” questioned the senior AL MP.
“The person whom we know that committed this act (rape), does not any right to stay in this world anymore,” he added. Earlier, opposition Jatiya Party MP Mujibul Haque Chunnu, who first raised the issue in the House, said the highest number of incidents of rape took place in 2019.
He urged Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, who was presiding over the sitting at that time, to fix a day in the parliament suspending all other of its business and hold a discussion on how to get rid of the social crime.
Advocating for bringing an amendment to the existing law, the JP MP said only life term jail sentence is not enough to control the growing number of the rape incidents.
“The provision of the death penalty should be incorporated into the law,” he said.
Pointing to the Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Chunnu said, “You are giving people to “crossfire” as part of the fight against drug. But why you are not going for a single instance of “crossfire” in case of rape incidents?”
Joining the discussion, another JP MP Kazi Firoz Rashid said incidents of rape have turned into an epidemic in recent times.
Pointing to the much-talked-about rape incident of a Dhaka University student and a garment worker at Dhamrai, he said: “When you will go to court to try the rapist, you will not find any witness. Therefore, you will have to go for an encounter to get rid of the rape from the society.”
Pointing to human rights activists who talked against killing in encounter, Firoz said, “You would have to understand the pain of rape if you or your mother or sister became a victim of rape.”
Citing an example of a gang rape incident on a bus in Tangail, Riroz said further incidents of rape didn’t occur, had those rapists in Tangail incident were killed in the “crossfire”.
He also said incidents of 10 to 12 crossfire of rapists would decrease the incident of rape.
“The only remedy to stop rape is killing rapist in the “crossfire” after taking their confessional statement
Bangladesh Tarikat Federation MP Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizvandary supported Chunnu and others regarding killing rapists in the “crossfire”.
“I can say that you will go to heaven if you kill rapist in “crossfire”,” he said.
