Feeling of insecurity has gripped people over the last couple of months
A feeling of insecurity has spread among the people in view of the sharply deteriorating law and order situation in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country in the last couple of months. Heinous crimes, such as gruesome killings, are on the rise, despite enhanced security measures and police vigilance. Experts and human rights activists said the situation was far from satisfactory, but government and law enforcement officials claimed that the overall law and order situation was satisfactory compared to the previous year.
The country saw a surge in crimes, with 860 people killed across the country in July and August, according to the crime statistics of Bangladesh police Headquarters. Rights activists said the trend indicated a serious deterioration in the law and order. They also pointed out the possibility that not all the crimes were reported or registered.
Police sources said at least 120 people were killed in the capital in the last two months; most of them fell victims to political rivalry, refusal to pay tolls, conflicts over supremacy in respective localities, tender manipulation and previous enmity.
Criminals have struck even in the middle of the night. The 43-year-old organising secretary of the Dhaka city (south) Jubo League unit, Riazul Haque Khan Milky, was shot dead allegedly by Jahid Siddique Tarek, joint secretary of the same unit, at Gulshan area in the city early on August 1. Special Branch
inspector Mahfuzur Rahman, 48, and his wife Swapna Rahman, 40, were found dead at their rented flat in Chamelibagh on the evening of August 16. The elder daughter of the slain couple, Oishee, an O-level student, and their domestic help went missing after the incident. On the following day, Oishee surrendered at Paltan Police Station along with the couple’s missing valuables. Later, after completion of her five-day police remand, she gave a confessional statement under Section 164 before the court, admitting that she had been involved in the killing.
Intelligence sources said criminals, who reportedly enjoy the patronage of some leaders of the local units of the ruling party, formed small bands to carry out their killings. The police also said teenage youths, not on the police list of criminals, were often caught committing crimes such as gruesome killings.
The number of deaths in political violence has also increased sharply across the country in the past couple of months, triggering panic among the people and threatening law and order.
After the Awami League-led Grand Alliance assumed power on January 6, 2009, a total of 15,472 people were killed across the country till August 31 this year. Among them, 1,141 people were victims of political murders.
Observers feel that inaction on the part of law enforcement personnel and criminalisation of politics are the two primary reasons responsible for the spate of violence that has left scores dead. Statistics show that 251 people were killed in political violence in 2009, 220 in 2010, and 135 in 2011, but increased again as 169 were killed in 2012 while some 366 people were killed in the first eight months of 2013. The data indicates that deaths caused by political violence in the country are on the rise.
During the same period, there were over 2,116 incidents of internal clashes in the Awami League (AL), while more than 461 internal clashes occurred in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in different parts of the country. Some 26,963 people were injured during the period in political violence, while 21,598 were injured in intra-party clashes of the AL and 5,365 were injured in intra-party clashes of the BNP.
A high-ranking official of human rights watchdog Odhikar, preferring anonymity, told The Independent, “Political violence occurs primarily due to lack of accountability, absence of democratic norms within the political party concerned, and a lack of commitment towards people in general.”
“Confrontations between the two major political parties, and their internal clashes, are the main reasons for the continuation of political violence. Politics has been criminalised in order to create illegal businesses by misusing political power,” he added.
In this regard, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman said political conflicts in Bangladesh were largely due to personal and political interests. Everyone has the tendency to grab and hold on to power by any means, as is evident from their attitudes.
“Politicians should understand that the civil society could be their critic as well as their friend, and they should not be treated as enemies,” he added.
Acting inspector general of police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque told The Independent, “If we all respect and follow the rule of law, political violence will be reduced significantly in the country.” He, however, denied that political violence is on the rise and also did not agree with the view that the law and order situation is deteriorating in the country.
He claimed that the overall law and order and crime situation is now under control. “My personal view is that the situation is comparatively satisfactory, as we are working amid many limitations. Our forces are working very well,” he added.
-With The Independent input
