Seven murders and many questions

Now things are gradually getting clear. The Narayaganj murders were not simply a case of abduction and killing for ransom. It was an act of enforced disappearance and killing. The family members categorically said that some of the members of the elite force RAB were involved in the whole process.

Amidst criticism of the elite force, three RAB officials have been dismissed from their services for their alleged involvement in the abduction and killing of seven people, including Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam. The dismissal has proved that something is seriously wrong with this force.

RAB high command, the home ministry, and other high-ups in the government have to make it clear whether any “kill and dump” policy exists in the country. The situation is so grave that only administrative assurances or measures are not enough to bring back the sense of security among people. The state must come out with proper legislation to contain the trend of enforced disappearances and killings.

Such disappearances and killings have always been considered a serious crime the world over. The state minister for home, other ministers, and even the prime minister assured that the killers will be given exemplary punishment. But so far, they did not fully assure us that no enforced disappearances will take place in future.

The present trend of abduction or enforced disappearance is the result of unabated extra-judicial killings by the law enforcers. Human rights bodies have been calling for an end to the extra-judicial killings. Rights activists believe that as the law enforcers are made trigger-happy, they are now resorting to abductions allegedly in exchange for money.

The parliament took several positive initiatives in 2009 to enact laws that promote and protect human rights, including the National Human Rights Commission Act 2009 and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act 2009. But in the same year, it also passed the Anti-Terrorism Law in its first session ignoring the objections from the rights organisations. Dr Mizanur Rahman, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, said last week that the commission would go to court seeking an end to the plain-clothes raids and operations by the law enforcers.

This is a good move, but the commission needs to do some other basic work. Dr Rahman can constitute a special investigative body (like a task force) to investigate these crimes and prepare policy recommendations for the government. It will be up to the government whether to accept and implement the recommendations, but the commission can at least make the government accountable.

In most cases so far, the abductors have remained out of trace. The much talked about AB Siddique (husband of environment activist Syeda Rizwana Hasan) abduction case is yet to be solved. He was released by the abductors, not recovered by the law enforcers, and so far, police and RAB could not get a single clue in this case. It seemed that the abductors are mocking the law enforcers in most of the cases. When this is the situation, the state minister for home, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, is still continuously saying that there is no reason to panic over the current law and order situation. Some of the top-notch police officers are giving figures and statistics saying that the number of abductions now is not as high as in the past. Will statistics remove the sense of insecurity in the public mind?

The seven murders in Narayanganj and the alleged involvement of the country’s elite force threw all the law enforcing agencies into a credibility crisis. However there are opinions that when the government itself does not care for credibility, do the law enforcers need to care about it? From that point of view, nabbing the killers, giving them due punishment, and bringing back the sense of security among people are urgently needed to restore the credibility of the government. The state cannot fail to meet the most basic of public needs.

The images of the gruesome murders left people perturbed. Narayanganj itself is now a name synonymous with abductions and killings. And the problem turned serious in this port city when young Twoki was murdered two years ago. His killers are allegedly roaming free. Local lawmaker Shamim Osman frequently appears on the television screen to defend himself. He can present a thousand points in his defense, but can he change public perception about him?

Enforced disappearances, abductions, and extra-judicial killings are unacceptable, and the performance of the law enforcing agencies has been extremely substandard in dealing with the cases. The ministers as well as the law enforcers cannot raise the already low public morale with statistics of other countries. The government cannot allow such a situation to continue. People are not willing to put up with the blame game anymore.

The government cannot shrug its responsibility. It needs to find a way to tackle the situation as a “general sense of impunity” exists among the members of the police and RAB. Not only the members of the force, even some of the noted thugs of the ruling party have enjoyed great impunity because even when investigations were initiated against them, they managed to evade prosecution by various means.

So far, no specific measures have been taken to address the issue of reparation of victims of the Narayanganj murders and other cases of enforced disappearances.  The issue cannot be dealt with by classic court proceedings or official assurances. If needed, there can be a move to enact a law that will specifically address the matter of enforced disappearances. The government can immediately think of establishing an independent oversight and accountability mechanism with authority and resources to conduct regular, unrestricted, and unannounced preventative inspections at all places of detention.