Editorial
A glaring omission in PBI charge sheet
Should errant policemen be allowed to evade justice?
The charge sheet submitted by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) on Sunday, more than two and a half years after the horrific attacks against members of the Santal community in Gaibandha’s Gobindaganj upazila, seems to have made a glaring omission. It makes no mention of any policeman despite the fact that a video clip at that time, which went viral on social media and was even broadcast on TV channels, clearly showed the involvement of at least three law enforcement officials in the arson of Santal houses in November 2016. In fact, even the police’s own probe report, which was submitted to the High Court in March the following year, found two policemen to be involved in the arson of Santal houses, who were later suspended. A former Awami League lawmaker from Gaibandha-4 was not named in the charge sheet either, despite the fact that he was the main accused in a case filed.
It is extremely concerning that despite previous investigations having established the involvement of some policemen, the 50-page PBI charge sheet has failed to acknowledge the role of law enforcement officials in the gruesome attacks on the Santal community which led to the deaths of three Santals and left hundreds homeless. Are we to believe that policemen are above the law? Because that is what the charge sheet submitted by the PBI indicates. It is unfathomable that the perpetrators of an attack of this scale should be able to elude justice.
The Santals’ demand for a new charge sheet that includes the names of all those involved is justified. It is a constitutional, inalienable right of the Santals to “enjoy the protection of the law” and that is what must be ensured by the agencies involved in the investigation of the heinous attacks against the ethnic minority group. There seems to be a lack of transparency in the process of investigation of the PBI, which is extremely worrying. A new charge sheet is in order—one which mustn’t be tainted by political influence or coercion and is free of all biases.
