Editorial
Accused uncle, policeman must be punished and the legal system must be freed of such manipulations
We are relieved to know that Piara Akhter, a woman who languished in jail for 24 years despite having committed no crimes, has been finally released from jail. She was in fifth grade when she was arrested and convicted for a crime she didn’t commit. Trying a child before a regular court instead of a juvenile court is illegal, as is coercing a child into making a false confession. Falsifying her birth date in the case documents was the last nail in the coffin. All of these crimes have been committed by officials involved in Piara’s case.
According to our report, she was only 12 years old when a policeman came to her school one day, took her to the police station, and made her give a false statement saying that she had killed her cousin. At the time of the incident, Piara had no guardians to speak on her behalf as her father was dead and her brother was working in Dhaka. Next thing she knew, she was behind the bars with convicted criminals.
This incident highlights how easily both the legal system and the law enforcement process can be manipulated in our country, leading to such a harrowing tale of wrongful conviction. The main culprit in Piara’s case was her uncle, who allegedly had a land dispute with her family. Blaming Piara for murdering his child and taking away over two decades of her life, with the assistance of a corrupt policeman, was the consequence of a personal vendetta.
We urge the authorities to ensure that the accused uncle and policeman are tried soon and given proper punishment for their crimes. Besides, the legal system and the police department have to find out how laws are so easily defied in our country and remove the legal loopholes so that no one else has to go through the trauma that Piara has. We laud the local administration’s decision to provide Piara with a house to live in and a job to earn her livelihood. But these things won’t bring significant change in her plight if society at large doesn’t help her overcome the trauma and hopelessness she suffered all these years. We hope Piara will get all the support she needs to restart her life with dignity.