Faisal Rahim
The sensational seven murder case at Narayangonj is unfolding a nexus between the ruling party outfits, local administration and some members of the law enforcing agencies in abductions and killings making the life of common people unsafe throughout the country.
The spate of latest incidents reveals that earlier abductions and killings were targeted at the opposition men, now the ruling party leaders and workers are targeting themselves within the party to secure control over local power bases and businesses including high yielding toll collections.
The news that three RAB officials including its commanding officer (CO) of Narayangonj have been dismissed from the services for their alleged involvement in the seven murders including the Narayangonj City Corporation’s panel mayor Nazrul Islam came as a huge shock, if not quite surprising to the nation. But senior Awami League leaders are also cunningly blaming the BNP for orchestrating the violent incidents in the Narayangonj city and around.
Hired killers?
The dismissed RAB officials are Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander SM Masud Rana and the initial disclosure of their involvement in abduction and killing against bribery also prove that RAB men can also be hired for grievous mischief.
Meanwhile, abductors are relentlessly at work. A UK based BNP leader of Sunamgonj is found missing since Monday while another businessman from Narayangonj is missing since Sunday. A trade transport union leader was chopped to death at Jhenaidah on Tuesday, and a Jamaat leader was killed at Sathkira on Tuesday. The story goes on unabated.
Meanwhile, it has become public knowledge now that RAB personnel work on payment for parties to suggest that earlier allegations about their involvement in abductions and forced disappearances may also be found true if properly investigated.
It also comes to people’s mind whether those who abducted BNP leaders Iliyas Ali or Chowdhuty Md Alam and scores of others in Dhaka and other places had the RAB personnel or plain clothed policemen on the team. All these operations were meticulously planned and well executed by highly smart persons having short hair like Lt Col Tareque and it may also reasonably raise doubts about elite forces involvement in those cases.
Noted lawyer Shahdeen Malik while visiting Narayangonj exactly made this point saying only highly trained people are capable of doing it in quick succession. He had demanded the removal of all RAB officers from Narayangonj to bring back a sense of security to the local people. Meanwhile BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam has questioned the involvement of RAB in crime gangs and demanded its desolation.
Human Rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and many such local right groups were making similar allegations in recent past blaming RAB and other agencies for extra-judicial killing. And the public exposure that RAB personnel had worked on payment may further worsen the elite forces image aty home and abroad only to strengthen the demand to disband RAB as the dismissal of few may not be enough.
People want protection from the state and only good governance in a democracy can ensure it. But question arises if the ruling party, the law enforcement agencies and local administration join hands outfit groups while the government remaining on looker, who could give safety to peoples’ life and property. There is no immediate answer to it.
Chaos and lawlessness
It now appears that the country is heading towards a total chaos and lawlessness as the nexus between the criminals and law enforcers is likely to continue with a kind of total impunity to abductions and killings. It means the beginning of the collapse of the state’s security foundation as the security forces are indulging in abductions and carrying out disappearances. The recovery of seven bodies from the river and 11 abductions on April 27 in 13 hours time is enough to suggest that the civic foundation of the state is fast disintegrating.
Awami League presidium member Suranjit Sengupta in a comment recently held a small powerful quarter operating from behind the government responsible for crimes like abductions and killing to eliminate their political rivals. He said it has crossed all limits and can’t continue longer, he warned.
Reports said that the government has set up a committee to probe into the involvement of RAB and local administration in the seven murder following allegation by Nazrul Islam’s father-in-laws that RAB acted on payment of bribe. He publicly told the media that the abduction and subsequent killing were carried out on payment of Tk six crores and the financial package was negotiated by the son of a ruling party MP who also happens to be a cabinet minister at the moment. The minister’s family has illegal business with the prime accused of the seven murder case. Moreover, the dismissed CO of RAB-11 happens to be the son-in-law of the minister, he said.
Now the question agitating the public minds is whether or not the main accused Nur Hussain, a drug mafia and ward commissioner of Narayangong City Corporation will be apprehended by police. He rose to the position of Siddhirgonj local Awami League leadership from a mere truck helper at the beginning of his life and simultaneously became the right hand man of local AL MP Shamim Osman.
Sheltered by a leader?
It is almost two weeks since the killing had taken place but the criminals still remained out of the touch. Police raided his house after five days of the incident, arrested 16 accomplices of Nur Hussain and recovered two microbuses, one of which was blood stained and had a blood soaked shirt. Police recovered the mobile phone of lawyer Chandan Sarkar from a third person but they have failed so far to arrest Nur amidst allegations that he is being sheltered by a central ruling party leader and waiting for the situation to cool down.
Most political commentators have blamed the ruling party and its top leaders for sheltering the criminals all over the country. The Prime Minister is directly responsible for the ministry of home and yet RAB and other forces are working on hire to eliminate political rivals. The fights are now spreading among party factions as the opposition has already become sidetracked. But if this situation continues, it may prove disastrous for all concerned.
Source: Weekly Holiday
