& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Are we missing something?

Jyotirmoy Barua
THE recent enforced disappearance and subsequent brutal killing of seven persons at Narayaganj has sparked huge protest all over the country. The civil society at Dhaka formed human chain in front of the Parliament House twice. In the first one police acted irrationally but the second one was peaceful. Though the recent killing is nothing new, the large number of victims attracted more attention than the other ones. Kidnap, killing and rape by people and members of law enforcing agencies have been happening for long without any sign of coming to an end. However, the recent seven murders have definitely raised some new questions, and this might be a strong case to help end these recurrent crimes taking place all over the country.
The focus of the civil society and the government is fixed on Narayanganj at the moment and there are certain facts that demand critical analysis. Family members of the deceased and Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy have pointed their fingers towards Member of the Parliament Mr. Shamim Osman, alleging he was involved in these murders. Let us see what Mr. Shamim Osman said to the media since April 27, the day the seven persons were abducted from Narayanganj.
In his first comment, on April 27, he said that city councillor Mr. Nazrul Islam and prime suspect Nur Hossain were his people. He directly pointed his fingers towards some rogue officials of the law enforcing agency and followers of Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy to be involved in the kidnapping. On April 30 six dead bodies were found in the Shitalakkhya River. On that day he was seen cursing the wife of late Nazrul Islam for alleging him to be involved with the abduction and murder. On May 2, in a public meeting, he played a recorded conversation in which the killers were plotting to kill the victims. According to Mr. Osman they were all men of Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy.
He also clearly stated that Nur Hossain was behind everything and had killed the seven persons. The quick shifting of statements fuelled stronger agitation about his involvement rather than the others. Mr. Osman remained the prime suspect. From the varying statements of Mr. Osman, it is evident that even if he was not directly involved in the killing, he was at least an accomplice to the offence. He himself claimed that he had knowledge of the plot and had informed the Hon'ble Prime Minister within 10 minutes of the abduction. So, existing penal law makes him party to the offence.
In the public meeting on May 2, he had also claimed that he did not need anybody at Narayaganj and he would deal with the matter by himself. With this comment, he has clearly challenged the authority of the State and thus committed an offence against the State. There are serious consequences for committing offence against State. Even if we forget the old accusations and allegations of murder against him, these two statements are enough to prosecute him for the offences.
But, the recent development in the political blame game and the shifting of burden to accused Nur Hossain and Rab give us a clear hint that Mr. Osman is again getting out of the net. Was he not trying to save his own skin from the very beginning? There are many other
Osmans created by our politicians all over the country. To achieve a permanent solution to these problems, the godfathers all over the country must be brought to justice irrespective of their political allegiance. It may seem impossible because they are part of the cormpt system, but at the end of the day it is our choice to decide what to continue.
Rab has already earned a lot of criticism for its past activities. Amnesty International's recent report of 700 extrajudicial killings by Rab seems to be understatement of the actual figure. There are demands for dismantling Rab as it has become a terror in the mind of the people rather than eliminator of terror. There are allegations that they are being used by some politicians and businessmen as mercenaries. All this helped Mr. Osman to
shift the burden on to them. We now know that if public figures like Mr. Osman are not brought to justice, the law and order situation will get worse day by day. Moreover, this culture of impunity has created a situation of lawlessness. Either we admit this or we can shut our eyes until we fall victim of the circumstances. The choice is ours now. It is up to us to decide how we want to shape our beloved country's law and order system. The following are a few suggestions to tackle the enforced abduction and killing. It is not an exhaustive list but demands careful consideration:
1. The police cannot arrest anyone without a warrant of arrest.
2. The police cannot arrest anyone under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure while he is in his residence or on a journey in a public or private transport.
3. No other law enforcing agency other than the police will execute arrest. The Rab has no lawful authority to execute arrest.
4. The police must wear uniform while executing arrest of any person. There will be no exception to this rule.
5. The police will not misbehave with any person while executing the arrest.
6. The police shall not use unnecessary force while executing the arrest. If there is any complaint of use of excessive force then there has to be an independent enquiry against that police personnel, which will follow criminal prosecution other than ordinary departmental reprimanding.
7. The police, while executing arrest of any absconding accused, will not shoot dead that accused in the name of crossfire or gunfight. The Rules of Enga gement have to be clearly defined.
8. In the event of firing by the police there must be two separate enquiries, one by the police personnel and one by the judicial magistrate as per provisions of the Police Regulation of Bengal, 1943. Failing to follow the aforesaid provisions, the police must face criminal prosecution rather than department proceedings. The police authority shall publish a special circular in this regard.
9. If Rab or any other agency requires arrest of any person then it should submit a requisition to the local police to execute the arrest. Upon receipt of the said request the police shall take formal permission, i.e., the warrant of arrest from the first class magistrate to execute the arrest.
10. The police cannot hold any per-
son for more than 24 hours in their custody. And the custody needs to be police custody in a police station, not in any unknown place. If there is allegation of holding someone for more than 24 hours even with a warrant of arrest then there must be an independent enquiry' into the matter. If any truth is found in the allegation then there must be a criminal proceeding against those police personnel in the regular court.
11. If any police officer is proved guilty of any of the aforesaid offences then he/she has to be suspended from the service without any pension benefit.
12. A special committee comprising of members from the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs needs to be formed to investigate the enforced disappearances, abductions and killings. The committee shall report to the secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs directly. After submission of the said report, the home ministry shall publish the same in their website within 15 days for the public.
13. A special tribunal headed by a sessions judge needs to be set up in every district to try the cases of enforced disappearances, abductions and killings.
14. A special monitoring cell needs to be formed whose members will be from the legislative, judiciary and the civil society.
We honestly believe the seven murder case at Narayanganj will show us the way to permanently end enforced disappearances and killings, and that the policy makers of the country would think rationally to save the nation from these goons.
The writer is Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh.