Afsan Chowdhury
After battling in the dark for some time, literally and metaphorically, the police have found a person who can lead them to a mastermind and perhaps even the entire operation. Given the recent inability to both prevent and apprehend the Jongis, this looks like an excellent opportunity for the police. The Gulshan episode has shown that the security regime is not fully prepared for this present escalation by the Jongis. Their reputation has taken several hits and public confidence in the law enforcement regime is low at the moment. So the arrest of a Jongi at Sholakia is not just an opportunity to improve their esteem and claim higher confidence status, but ultimately also to crack the Jongi code. It’s an opportunity they can’t lose. The Jongi belongs to the people’s custody and it’s on their behalf that he is being held by the police. To crossfire him will be the worst thing the police can do to the effort to end the Jongis crisis.
Sholakia has become a major symbol today, as it represents the heartland of Bangladesh. Gulshan was where the upper class and foreigners congregated and the killers also came mostly from that class. However, Sholakia is different as the Eid congregation, the largest in Bangladesh, is integral to the culture and practice of its people. An attack on Sholakia is an assault on the spirit and soul of Bangladesh. That is why it has become the most symbolically significant attack on Bangladeshis. The Jongis who attacked knew this, and hence the attack was to unnerve the nation as a whole. The people who died in the line of duty and the victims deserve the best efforts not just for Sholakia but the entire victimization of Bangladesh.
The connection between the Gulshan and Sholakia attackers may not be immediately obvious, but it shows that the Jongis are united in spirit and the proof of their purpose is obvious. The attacks are high profile and both are aimed at targets that will gather high attention. While one target was meant to send a message of hate to the western world, the other was to send a message to Bangladesh itself. It was meant to scare, to declare their power and assume a position of supremacy.
A key part of the battle against Jongis is the information that is required to handle the crisis. As the police themselves have admitted, they often know too little and too late. PM’s Adviser HT Imam has said that the announcement of the Gulshan attack was made on media but the police thought that the target would be elsewhere. Some claim the police never saw this, as it denied in the beginning that there was such a message. However, the information gap is obvious and that is why the opportunity that the Jongi at Sholakia offers is priceless. At no cost and for no reason can he be dispensed of. He offers a route out of the mess.
Everyone, including the PM, has said that the people must get involved and this Sholakia incident is a good example of how much the people care, since they are the ultimate victims. One way they can help the cause is to provide information, distribute public information through the internet and develop social resistance. The Jongi issue is not limited to the security agencies only but also involves the people at large. To accept that is to accept accountability to the people for achieving national objectives. While it is accepted that the police are not accountable to the people but to the Government, it is important that the link is understood. That is why the signal must go from the Government of Sheikh Hasina that crossfire solves the immediate rage but the long term problem gets bigger.
But the most important reason why the Sholakia Jongis must be kept alive is to help the police trace the “Ustad”. It is under his direction that the killer raid was planned and it is him and others like him who need to be caught if Jongibad is to die here. It is for this reason that the killer should be used to lead to others. As media has reported, several others have escaped. Catching all of them would significantly minimize the Jongi threat. Which is why the prime call is to interrogate him, catch others using him and significantly diminish the Jongi threat through this means. This is no longer a police matter, it is a national issue.
Don’t crossfire the Jongi, use him to get to the Ustad.
Source: bdnews24
