The spread of Covid-19 is a very real and present danger for Bangladesh, especially being as densely populated a nation as we are.
To that end, the government’s efforts to encourage people to stay home in quarantine in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus have been highly commendable. These precautionary measures are clearly paying off, as more and more people in the capital are opting for self-quarantine.
However, it is disheartening to see all this effort come undone by instances of abuse of power on part of the authorities, on citizens who have been seen on the road for some reason or other.
While it is true that we need to consider the well-being of our fellow citizens -- and indeed that of our own -- and quarantine ourselves at home, this does not give law enforcement carte blanche to abuse its power and assault people with no precedent.
The nation has not yet gone into a curfew, and people still do have the right to go outside if there is such a need, as inadvisable as it may be.
However, physically attacking or humiliating citizens is unacceptable, and a clear violation of the duty of police to protect citizens.
This is not the kind of news that we need to hear about, especially in the midst of a pandemic.
While we understand that the police are indeed risking their own health and well-being in ensuring that people respect the quarantine, beating people into submission is not the way to achieve that.
Now more than ever, we need the law enforcement to listen to the people and indeed the government. We cannot weather this storm if we are further divided.
