Members of law enforcement agencies seem to be out in a competition to earn better record on killing people in so-called crossfire incidents that have left dead some four hundred people including several innocent ones since June last year. The last 13 days alone saw 18 people killed, pushing the number of casualties in extrajudicial execution to 378 in 13 months and 13 days. Of them, 245 people died in police actions, 116 in Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), 12 were killed by Cobra and Cheetah [special crime-busting units of police] and five by joint forces.Death of some top criminals in 'crossfire' came as a great relief to a section of people. Despite being well aware that the killings were sort of executions without trial, many people greeted with acclamation the way the law enforcers were dealing with the criminals. The rationale behind such attitudes was mainly the country's frailties of many years where criminals get arrested, but come out on bail and go about their business as usual. But soon after a number of people with no criminal records fell victims to the 'crossfire', panic had started to pervade cross sections of the society.
The law enforcers, however, have been relentless in their attempts to show the innocent victims of crossfire as criminals by coming up with false criminal records against them. But investigations by newspapers have nullified the claims by the law enforcers while corroborated those of the victims' families. Law enforcers beat up some people at their offices and later gunned them down outside, describing the deaths as results of 'crossfire'. But it all reminded the people of the death of Independent University student Rubel at Detective Branch office in 1998. The idea that anyone may fall victim to such incidents began to creep into the consciousness of the people.
The government had constituted special forces -- Rat, Rab, Cobra, and Cheetah -- one after another to contain rampant crimes. Besides, with the inception of those forces, the government had tried to give people the impression that even stringent laws like Speedy Trial Act have failed to yield expected results. But experts and rights bodies decried the launches of the forces as temporary solution and demanded for a permanent one. With crimes spiralling out of control, the government launched army-led Operation Clean Heart on October 17 and limited success of the drive gave the government reasons to boast about the law and order for some time.
To sustain the success, Rapid Action Team (Rat) comprising the policemen with para-commando training from the army was launched on January 25, 2003. As Rat failed to bring tangible results, army personnel were included in the team and the force was renamed Rab (Rapid Action Battalion) on April 14 last year. Besides, the government had launched a special drive with different agencies of the police in every ward of the capital and another drive styled Operation Spider Web in the southwestern region in 2003 to net criminals. But both the drives were considered to have been largely ineffective.
The government formed Cobra in June, 2004, with members from Detective Branch (DB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Special Branch (SB), and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to work in the capital. In yet another such move, Cheetah, consisting of DB men, hit the road on September 24 last year. As the Rab started actions in the name of 'crossfire' immediately after going into full-fledged operation in June, 2004, the police also sprang to similar actions. In a few months, they surpassed the Rab in 'dealing with criminals'.
| Didn't want RAB to get all the credit, they were losing "face". |
| MACRO Alt - F5; Arrest, police station, interrogation, confession, 2am, behind the train station, arms cache, cohorts, open fire, attemped escape, shot dead, Dr. Quincy, "He's dead, Jim", shutter gun, registered terrorist, wanted for murder, etc. You mean that story? |
| You forgot the "accomplices always escape without a trace" part. Yeah, we didn't believe them either. |
Heads of police and Rab said that the executive enquiries so far did not find fault on the part of any of their members for any of the deaths in crossfire while rights bodies, legal experts, civil society, and opposition parties termed those enquiries mere eyewash. They demanded an independent enquiry involving the judiciary and professional bodies, saying that executive probes into the extra-judicial killings are bound to be partial since the law enforcers are carrying out the acts with the go-ahead from the government.
For a permanent solution to arrest declining law and order, experts suggest bringing reforms in the police, raising their morale, keeping the judiciary above politicisation and influence from the executive, strengthening the lower courts, ending political patronisation of the criminals, ensuring justice in the trial of the criminals and testimony by the witnesses.
| Oh, sure, like that's going to happen |
June-Dec'2004 63 76 8 4 = 151
Jan-Jul' 2005 53 169 4 1 = 227
Till July 13, 2005 Total 378