After the recent revelation of yet another mass grave of 20 people in Malaysia, migration experts and human rights activists expressed their deep concern over the possibilities of such burial ground along the sea coast of Bangladesh.
They have urged law enforcement agencies to carry out drives in those coastal areas where aspirant migrants were kept hostage and tortured before they were boarded Malaysia-bound sea vessels.
Earlier, when this Dhaka Tribune correspondent was on a month’s visit to Teknaf locals there expressed their doubt about the possibility of such graves in Sabrang area, a union under Teknaf Upazila.
During the visit the Dhaka Tribune correspondent and some human rights activists were threatened with dire consequences by unidentified people.
They were told not to proceed further with their mission.
Harun Al Rashid, Regional Coordinator of CARAM Asia Berhad (an organisation working for ensuring migrants’ rights) said: “We have received allegations from the relatives of the missing migrants through the hot line we opened for the migrants people.”
Still traffickers are demanding ransom from them and some migrants have already been killed by traffickers, he said.
“We also came to know from relatives of victims that some of the migrants could not reach Malaysia or Thailand.”
Relatives of those victims apprehended that their near and dear ones had been kept confined somewhere along the coastal areas of Bangladesh, Harun said.
Human Rights activist Nur Khan said it will not be surprising if any mass grave is uncovered in Teknaf and Moheshkahlai as law enforcement agencies of the country are yet to conduct any drive in those coastal areas.
Newspaper reports have many times mentioned names of some places where captives were tormented before they were boarded water vessels but law enforcement agencies have never ever carried out any search in those places.”
Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police Shyamal Kumar Nath over phone said: “We are yet to receive any information on such mass grave in the coastal areas.”
Shyamal also refused to talk further over the issue. But Harun Al Rashid termed police inactivity a failure of the government.
There are laws against traffickers in Bangladesh but nefarious nexus between law enforcement agencies and traffickers and political cronyism are wreaking havoc on the rule of law of the country, he said.
Exactly this is the reason why no steps have yet been taken to carry out a search in those coastal areas, he said.
Until then nobody can say for sure that those coastal areas have no such mass graves, Nur Khan maintained.
