THE recovery of bodies of four children dumped in sandy ground in Bahubal of Habiganj district on Wednesday shocked the nation again by the scale of barbarity on the innocent victims. And what is noticeable is that killing of teenagers has hit a record of 45 victims over the last one and a half months across the country highlighting that one child was killed everyday raising question what our law enforcers are doing to give safety to the people.
We have written so many editorials in recent past with every killing of children demanding arrest and exemplary punishment of the perpetrators. But no sooner had the cries of victims’ families calmed down, the tragedy got lost as new killing surfaced again. To police who are more busy with political agenda attending such killing cases are just routine work. Otherwise they could work out preventive measures with local bodies pressing public awareness campaigns at schools. Local administration may also give message to bad elements and criminals that they are not free and will never escape punishment for wrong-doing.
As per criminologists, criminals move desperately and commit crimes in the society where the rule of law has almost totally broken down. That is what is prevailing in the country now with least fear of the government machinery and police presence around a locality. The government is treated as another wrong-doer more than doing good for the people and it encourages criminals.
Killers of the four boys had to face no difficulty from local police because the people who abducted the boys knew that police are idle sitters; they only go after targets that produce money. News reports said the four primary school children were abducted on last Friday in a autorickshaw from playground around their village home and police were also informed about the direction of their going into missing. Many believe their proactive role could save the boys from being killed.
Four days passed before their bodies were recovered. News reports said parents of the boys had a quarrel with some local influential persons and if some of them were detained, such killing may not have come. Police are working their way so also criminals where public safety is most conspicuous by utter neglect of the government and its law enforcement agencies. Children are becoming the soft target often for mugging illegal money by way of ransom.
As the new tragedy hits the Habiganj village, there is nobody to be held accountable for public safety and particularly the safety of school children who often go missing on way to and from school or even from family premises. We must do everything to protect children, we can’t surrender to barbarity any more.
