Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Instability provides opening for settling of scores

Political Killings
Instability provides opening for settling of scores
Political activists appear to be taking advantage of the country’s current political instability to settle scores, as the incidents of political killing increases throughout the country reaching its highest level since 2006. Since October 25, at least 16 political leaders and activists have been killed by rivals or by their own party men – eight were the activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, seven from the Awami League and one from the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Data from human rights organisations also suggests that the total number of deaths from political violence in 2013 is substantially higher than recent years.
Human rights watchdog Ain O Salish Kendra reported that political violence had claimed the lives of 289 people in the nine months of the current year while the figure for the whole of 2012 was 84.
Statistics from rights watchdog Odhikar were a little higher than those of ASK, finding that 300 people were killed in political violence across the country between January and August 2013 – the highest casualty level in a six-month period since 2006.
According to its monthly report, Odhikar found that at least 27 people were killed and 3,433 injured in political violence in October.
Former inspector general of police ASM Shahjahan told New Age that the politics in the country had become ‘sick’ due to excessive use of ‘muscle and arms power.’
He said there were many opportunists in political parties who always tried to use political instability to gain an upper hand.
Md Ashraful Alam, chairman of Criminology and Police Science at Maulana Bhashani Science and Technology University, blamed the absence of ideology and democracy in the parties for the situation.
‘Since our political parties do not practice internal democracy, how can we expect democratic attitude from them. They always tend to achieve things by force and arms, which obviously results in violence and killings,’ said Ashraful Alam.
He feared that the turmoil might continue with levels of deaths increasing much further, ‘similar to the situation in 2006’.
In the latest killing on the night of October 31 a local leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Babul Bepari, was stabbed to death allegedly by the activists of local Awami League in Kalkini upazila of Madaripur.
A few days earlier, on October 27, the first day of 60-hour hartal enforced by the BNP-led alliance, Juba League activist Alamgir Hossain Shimul was stabbed to death by pro-hartal pickets in Abhainagar upazila of Jessore.
On the same day another Juba League activist Swapan Shil died after Jamaat-Shibir men cut his tendons in Zia Nagar upazila of Pirojpur.
Also on that day, a Jamaat activist Zulfikar Ali Julhash was killed when Awami League activists allegedly opened fire on an opposition procession in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna.
In several incidents, activists were murdered by
their own party men in disputes over establishing supremacy.
On the night of October 30, a Juba League leader was shot dead in Rajshahi by his own party men. The deceased, Mahfuzur Rahman, 30, was an accused in the murder case of Sarwar Hossain Dablu, who was the acting president of ward 7 Juba League unit in Rajshahi city.
Police suspected that Mahfuzur was killed in revenge for that murder, said Paba police officer-in-charge Akbar Ali.
A BNP activist was beaten and stabbed to death and nine others injured in a factional fighting in Bogra on October 27. The victim was identified as Md Shahjahan, 40, a supporter of Gabtali upazila chairman Jahidul Islam Helal.
Locals said the supporters of Helal, who was also the district BNP joint secretary, and Morshed Milton, also the secretary of the unit, had locked horns earlier over establishing supremacy in the area.
On October 28, a local leader of Juba Dal was killed and 20 others injured in violent clashes between rival factions of the BNP in Mirzapur of Tangail district.
The slain activist, Abdul Alim, was joint secretary of Juba Dal’s Mirzapur upazila unit.
Asked about the recent increase in levels of political killing, inspector general of police Hassan Mahmood Khandker told New Age that the police did not think that incidents of killing in political violence had increased.
He said that they had increased their vigilance to prevent any kind of offences by miscreants and assailants, no matter which political parties they belonged to.

Courtesy of New Age

Related News

Bangladesh committed to sweeping labour reforms: Yunus tells US delegation

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The interim government is committed to carrying out sweeping labour reforms in an effort to attract more foreign buyers to the country, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus told a visiting delegation from the United States. The chief adviser made the comments at his office in Dhaka’s Tejgaon when a United States ... Read more

Health ministry prohibits drug company reps from entering hospitals

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In order to improve hospital services and make sure appropriate treatment for those hurt during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, the Ministry of Health has issued 10 directives. One of these directives prohibits representatives of pharmaceutical companies from entering hospitals. A directive signed by the deputy secretary of the Health Service Department, ... Read more

Over 20 injured in clash between Polytechnic, Butex students

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A clash occurred on Sunday evening in Tejgaon in the capital city of Dhaka, resulting in injuries to around 20 to 25 people. The incident involved students from the Bangladesh University of Textiles and Dhaka Polytechnic Institute. The clash broke out at about 9:00pm on Sunday at Aziz Hall of BUTEX ... Read more

Ex-chief justice Ruhul Amin dies

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former Chief Justice Ruhul Amin died early Sunday morning at the age of 83 due to health issues related to aging. The chief justice’s office said in a condolence message that his passing occurred around 4:30 am while he was receiving treatment at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka. Namaz-e janaza ... Read more

Well-marked low over Bay may intensify further

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) reported that a well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal and nearby Equatorial Indian Ocean is still present. This weather system is likely to strengthen further, according to BMD’s morning update. The bulletin indicates that the weather will likely be dry with some clouds ... Read more

Dhaka – Benapole train service, passing over Padma Bridge to start on December 2

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Train services on the Dhaka-Benapole route via the Padma Bridge will start on December 2. Padma Rail Link Project Director Md Afzal Hossain said it on Thursday (November 22). He said, “We are hopeful about the official start of passenger train services on the Dhaka-Benapole section via the Padma Bridge from ... Read more

475 killed in road crashes across Bangladesh in October: report

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 475 people were killed and 815 others were injured in 452 road crashes across Bangladesh in October, said a report published by the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh on Saturday. During the time, 34.31 per cent or 163 people were killed and 29.32 per cent or 239 more were ... Read more

Three IUT students lost lives as picnic bus becomes electrified

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Three students of the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) died by electrocution and around 60 were left injured after a bus taking them to a picnic came into contact with an overhead bare electric wire in Gazipur’s Sreepur today (23 November) at 10:30am. The deceased are – Mozammel Hossain Naim, 24, ... Read more

Khaleda joins Armed Forces Day event after 12 years

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia on Thursday attended the Armed Forces Day reception programme at Senakunja after 12 years. Chief adviser to the interim government Muhammad Yunus exchanged greetings with Khaleda Zia at the reception programme at Dhaka Cantonment. Khaleda last attended the Armed Forces Day ... Read more

AMM Nasir Uddin made CEC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former secretary AMM Nasir Uddin has been appointed as the new chief election commissioner. President Muhammed Shahabuddin appointed him and other election commissioners on Thursday, a day after the EC search committee submitted the shortlist containing 10 names for those posts. Other members of the commission are former additional secretary Md ... Read more

JU student lost life after being hit by battery-run rickshaw on campus

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A first-year student of Jahangirnagar University died after she was hit by a battery-powered rickshaw on campus yesterday evening. Afsana Karim was a student of marketing and a resident of Begum Khaleda Zia Hall. Her parents live in Sherpur. In security camera footage, Afsana was seen walking near the arts building ... Read more

Education must foster creativity : Professor Yunus

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus said on Wednesday (20 November) that Bangladesh’s education system must foster creativity to create a generation of entrepreneurs. “We should reform the education system in a way that it creates a generation of entrepreneurs. We need education, which helps students become creative people. Our young people ... Read more

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims observed

News Desk : dhakamirror.com World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was observed in Bangladesh on Sunday as elsewhere in the world. To mark the day, different government and non-government organisations held different programmes on the day. The day is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year. Dhaka North City Corporation on ... Read more

Chief Adviser opens waiting lounge at Dhaka airport

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dr. Muhammad Yunus has opened a new waiting lounge for expatriate workers and their families at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. The lounge was inaugurated after his return from the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Dr. Yunus mentioned that he had previously opened a lounge for expatriate workers before ... Read more

Saudi Arabia opens doors to nurses from Bangladesh in landmark move

There are only a few dozen clinicians among nearly 30 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia Kamran Siddiqui Highlights Saudi Arabia has begun recruiting Bangladeshi nurses, marking a significant milestone in overseas employment, as the Gulf nation traditionally employs lower-wage, less-skilled workers from the country. The recruitment process, targeting an initial intake of 500 nurses, ... Read more

DU changes admission test for Ijtema, ‘Ka’ unit exam to February 15

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The General Admission Committee of Dhaka University (DU) has rescheduled the “Ka” unit (science) admission test to February 15 due to the Biswa Ijtema. Previously, the exam was scheduled for February 1. “We decided to defer the ‘Ka’ unit test date as it coincides with Biswa Ijtema,” said Professor Mamun Ahmed, ... Read more

Yunus opens dedicated lounge for migrant workers at Dhaka airport

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In a heartfelt acknowledgment of their invaluable contributions, the country is set to honour its expatriate workers with a new lounge at the Dhaka airport designed to make their journeys more comfortable. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Monday inaugurated a special lounge for the country’s migrant workers at Hazrat Shahjalal ... Read more

Khaleda’s 10-year jail term stayed by SC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a 2018 High Court ruling that had extended Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s prison sentence from five years to 10 years in the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust case. A three-member Appellate Division bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam ... Read more

JnU students end protests after demands met

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Jagannath University students on Tuesday withdrew their movement, for the construction of the university’s second campus, after the interim government accepted their demands. AKM Rakib, an organiser of the movement, told reporters after a meeting held at the education ministry on the day that they were withdrawing the movement. ‘The government ... Read more

Applications for school admission begin

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Admission applications for grades one to nine in both public and private schools have started this morning. Students can start applying online from 11am. The application process will continue until 5pm on November 30, reports The Business Standard. After the application period ends, students will be chosen through a digital lottery, ... Read more