Yesterday’s incident of four people sustaining serious burn injuries due to an accidental gas explosion is yet another startling reminder of how pervasive the culture of shirking responsibilities is in Bangladesh.
What’s even more troubling, perhaps, is that the incident took place during an event organized by the police themselves, during the fourth founding anniversary event of the Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) to be specific.
This is a tragedy on multiple levels. Even if the organizers aren’t necessarily the ones to be blamed for this incident, it is the failure to file any cases that sticks out.
This incident also brings to mind the accidental death of a 15-year-old boy around three years ago during an event organized by publication Kishor Alo, which saw similar lack of accountability on the part of the organizers.
But given that the organizer of the GMP event is our law enforcement itself, if it was indeed the police that was culpable for the explosion, can we expect it to file a case against itself?
In a country like Bangladesh, accidents are often treated as an inevitability more than anything -- with industrial explosions and fires breaking out every other month, clearly there is a problem when it comes to following code, be it building or fire. However, the ultimate issue is, and always has been, a gross lack of any accountability on the part of those responsible for such tragedies whenever they take place.
The GMP incident needs to be investigated with impartiality and, depending on those found to be culpable, a case needs to be filed. The victims deserve justice and those found to be culpable need to be brought to book without hesitation.
