Whither law and order?

Bare fact is that since takeover by the BNP-led coalition government Bangladesh has the ill luck to behold in particular, elimination of political leaders and activists and abduction of businessmen and others to such an alarming proportion that never happened before, and that too under the administration of an elected government inevitably accountable to the people for the same. When the Home Minister could openly brag of having released nearly seventy thousand alleged offenders because of their affiliations, and invite such others who are still under police cases to get them freed, how could you expect law and order to improve? AL leader of Natore Mr. Momtaz, popular to friends and foes alike, fell victim to the axe of the alleged criminals, some of whom were relieved of police case perhaps on partisan consideration. Advocate Manjur Alam of Khulna, a front line AL leader was also killed. And alas ! the alleged criminals under police case were seen joining the BNP procession in Khulna under police protection. In the recent past criminals also took lives of AL leader of Bagmara, Rajshahi and of Lalmonirhat. Many of the grassroots level leaders and activists of AL fell prey to the criminals' bullets, and there is no end to that. AL's allegation that this government is bent on denuding the party of leaders and thus cripple it has come to be taken into public cognisance following the felling of AL leaders one after another.

Abduction in Chittagong Hill Tracts and elsewhere in the country is a daily occurrence. CHT is again being made a boiling pot. Business magnate Jamaluddin's abduction has reached a proportion of horror story. The man who was finally caught to help lead to dog the persons involved in the abduction died mysteriously while in police custody. But who cares the pangs every moment the family members of Jamaluddin are reeling under? The primitive bestiality was shown in burning to death all but one of a Hindu family at Banshkhali. Even the life of a Buddhist hermit was not spared, not to mention of broad-daylight point-blank shooting down of Professor Muhuri in his house before his family members. But the main culprit got scot-free allegedly because of his affiliation with the party in power.

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When the minions of law and order and dispensers of justice are chosen/promoted on the basis of allegiance to the party in power, and not on merit or seniority, the dealing with law and order as well as dispensation of justice is less likely to bring forth any improvement and fair play. On Jan 10 AL supporters from Chashara, Narayanganj who were coming to join the Rally at Paltan were attacked by JCD/JJD activists; many were injured. JCD/JJD also threatened Professor B. Chowdhury, their one time beloved leader, and declared him persona non grata in his district Munshiganj.

There are, of course, many other causes that are attributable to the deterioration of law and order and sometimes some of them are formidable. But too much leverage and leniency to the party workers and using of the police force as their umbrella and restricting them not to do their duty of their own are also contributing to further exacerbation of the situation. During its tenure AL did the same thing and so did it pay the price so heavily. People and media still remind us of how journalist Tipu Sultan was beaten and maimed by AL cadres, how the convention of Kader Siddiqui was marred by the Dhaka University BCL activists, how shamelessly the then administration and AL supporters impeded and thwarted Khaleda Zia's entourage to South Bengal apart from myriad cases of murder and mayhem committed.

BNP had used the misdeeds of AL to woo the voters and succeeded and had also pledged to the countrymen to rid the country of miscreants, restore law and order, give safety and security to life and property. But with over two years of its governance with some enactment of laws and formation and launching of forces/battalions of catchy nomenclature it has failed to deliver the least. And sadly enough BNP does not seem to be perturbed at the saddest state of law and order. It is quite complacent about having been able to politicise every organ of administration. educational and financial institutions and others and so it is unruffled about the unpredictable consequences it may suffer.

It has now come up with another issue of increasing the seats of law makers which a poor country like ours could ill afford for that will create further dent into the public exchequer. The crying need of the hour is how much devotion and sacrifice government could make with utmost urgency to deal with the miscreants with iron hand restore law and order in the society and contain corruption for which we have been ranked top among the nations. The sooner they get to this the better for them and the country as a whole.