Law should be equal for all

On 8th October 2014, after spending the Eid and Puja vacation, my family and I were waiting at the Jessore rail station for a Khulna-bound train. Suddenly I saw a small crowd and being curious I went there. A mobile court was fining three youths Tk. 300 each as a punishment for smoking publicly. Those three youths, probably students of some university or college, hung their heads in shame. People surrounding them were hurling abuse at them. Two of them were able to pay the fine but the third couldn't, so he remained under police custody. At that time, our train arrived and we got on board.

No doubt, it is commendable to punish someone for smoking in public. But I am quite sure that many of the people who ridiculed the youths also smoke publicly. I can't resist mentioning the incident of our Social Welfare Minister Syed Mohsin Ali's smoking in public during a programme in Sylhet. Although he apologised after it provoked an outcry, yet he didn't face any punishment. Moreover, we see different people including government high-ups, members of law enforcing agencies, and influential people smoking publicly. It seems laws are always slack for them.

Santosh Das
Khulna