Rights organisation Ain O Shalish Kendra (ASK) has alleged the government is resorting to extrajudicial killings to cover the law and order mishaps in the country.
The body’s Executive Director Sultana Kamal expressed concerns over the death of a number of persons in so-called ‘shootouts’ with law enforcers over the past week. There was a press statement released by the organization on Wednesday.
At least three Awami League activists were killed in the shootouts. The attacks were then backed by the Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
“There was a number of gunfights. The law enforcers shot back when the criminals opened fire. Forces will not be easy on criminals,” the minister said in a press briefing.
ASK in its statement said recent comments from the government personnel from sensitive posts have been controversial and supports the extrajudicial killings.
“The decision to not let criminals go because they are from the party is surely positive. But if the strictness is shown through extrajudicial killings instead of due process after detaining criminals, then law and order will not be improved in the country,” the ASK statement read out.
“Extrajudicial killings are the worst violation of human rights,” the ASK statement added, pointing out that such steps were widely taken to be measures to protect the ‘powerful’ backing criminals.
Juba League activist Ajibor Sheikh, accused for the shooting in Magura that led to a child being shot in a mother’s womb was killed in a ‘gunfight’ with police on Tuesday.
Chhatra League’s Hazaribagh unit chief Arzu Miya was killed in Dhaka on the same night in a ‘crossfire’ claimed by RAB during a raid to arrest him. Mia was accused of beating a minor to death on charges of stealing a mobile phone.
Early on Wednesday Zakir Hossain, accused for the death of an activist during an Awami League factional clash on August 15, was killed in another ‘shootout’ with the police.
Rights organisations have long been against deaths in what RAB and police term ‘shootouts’ and ‘crossfire’ and termed them as extrajudicial killings.
Source: Ittefaq
