Police have only recently arrested the three RAB officials who were sent on forced retirement from the armed forces for their alleged involvement in the sensational seven murders despite a High Court order and a strong demand from different quarters. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) did not say anything, and nothing was clarified by the Ministry of Defence. But the state minister for home and the police super of Narayanganj continuously assured people that the legal process to arrest the three Rab officials was underway.
It was visible that the police department was in a quandary about how to arrest these three accused, despite the order from the High Court. Amidst severe criticism from various quarters, the top officials of the government said necessary steps would be taken on completion of the process. No one was sure when the process would be completed.
George Orwell would recognise this symbolic episode in which the government had already signaled that some animals were more equal than others, straight out of Animal Farm. The government’s attitude towards the case has once again reminded the nation that these three were not any ordinary citizen.
The entire process after the gruesome seven murders in Narayanganj made us recall of the famous Orwellian quote: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
We can imagine the implications of this sort of “deliberate procedural delay” in arresting the accused persons who have very strong “backgrounds” or “connections.” There seems to exist a two-tier legal system in the country: One system for the people of privilege, and another for every Tom, Dick, and Harry. But we can resolutely say that giving preferential treatment to a few will lead to chaos in the overall justice system.
The Narayanganj murders exposed the brutal characteristics of politics as well law enforcement. People expect drastic action against the culprits. But the drama so far played in nabbing the accused raised questions about faith in the overall legal system. The main accused, Nur Hossain, was not arrested immediately after the incident although the state minister for home, the inspector general of police, and Nayaranganj police boss assured that he would be taken into custody.
But now, the police are saying that Nur Hossain had left the country and may be staying in the Indian state of West Bengal. The next step was to arrest the three RAB officials, but they had been out of reach for a long time because of the so-called procedural system.
If the government tries to waste more time, people will start thinking differently. These sort of tricks also expose the arrogance and maneuverings of powerful people who are given protection at the expense of the government’s image and credibility.
If we scrutinise the seven murders in Narayanganj, we see, Panel Chairman and Councilor Nazrul Islam were murdered because of political enmity with Nur Hossain and others. But advocate Chandan Sarkar, who had no enmity with anyone, was killed as he was fulfilling his responsibility as a lawyer and as a citizen to follow the abductors. He saw Nazrul being snatched along with some other people from the court area. He started following the abductors with his car and, at one stage, another vehicle of the killers hit his car from behind, and the lawyer along with his driver was taken into a microbus by the abductors and their bodies were seen floating on the Sitalakhya river along with the others.
Those who met and assured the family members of Chandan Sarkar included the prime minister, the BNP chairperson, high government officials, and a number of journalists. The message we got from the reporters was shocking. The lawyer’s family members believe that the killers will never get their punishment and the case will not see a normal ending. Members of the families of the other victims are also of the same opinion – that justice is almost an impossibility in this country.
As the system either deliberately or due to procedural problems failed to try killers in many other incidents before, people are now fully derisive of justice. Extra-judicial killings, random abductions, murder, and violence are a sign that our hard-won democracy is becoming a spectre of the real thing: Bangladesh is increasingly turning into a place of lawlessness.
Another serious issue is the unashamed politicisation of the administration, judiciary, and other important organs of the state, for which people started believing that the system actually rules over those who cannot, or will not, fight. The implication of such an administrative and legal system is so serious that may dispirit people to retain sanity and courage at a time of the nation’s crisis.
Bangladesh has a youthful population, a free press, and a growing middle-class. The country is experiencing a rapid pace of urbanisation. These mean that people are not ready to see backwardness and brutality. But the problem is that those who are at the helm of power do not feel the confidence to rely on youthful and creative people.