BLANKET murder cases brought against Awami League leaders, activists, aides and even professionals close to them and their detention in such cases after the fall of the Awami regime on August 5 are worrying on a number of counts. Such cases dilute crimes of some people of the deposed Awami government and the criminal high-handedness of the law enforcement agencies. They also appear continued misuse of legal tools. During the student-mass uprising, which initially began as a peaceful protest against a High Court order regarding the restoration of quotas in civil service jobs and later were forced into violence by attacks on students by Awami League fronts and law enforcers, a few hundred protesters and bystanders died and a few thousands became injured. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina and her government, one of the first demands that people from all walks of life raised is that the new government, the interim one, should bring the people responsible for the massacre to justice. Many in the deposed Awami League government and the party fronts are certainly responsible for the killings as are many in the law enforcement agencies; the new government needs to bring them to justice.
But the way the cases are filed and people are detained and remanded in custody raises concerns. What is also concerning is the narrative created regarding their detention. One of the first detained from the Awami League government was the state minister for posts, telecommunications and information technology. He was detained on August 6 at Dhaka airport when he was trying to flee. But he was shown arrested on August 14, along with the former deputy speaker of the parliament, in a murder case. It is not known where he was in the week in between and no law enforcement agency took care to let people know of his 鈥榮ecret detention鈥�. A number of other members of the deposed government have also been detained and remanded in custody in connection with murder cases. Two journalists, known as Awami apologists and for their involvement in corruption, have also been detained and remanded in custody in a murder case. What is further concerning is that while about a hundred murder cases have already been filed and cases are filed every day, families of the deceased are instructed by the police not to name police personnel in the cases. We are worried about this disturbing development and the insincerity of the authorities in ensuring justice.
The authorities must, therefore, look into the issue seriously to ensure justice. The authorities must not let blanket murder cases against anyone and everyone of the deposed Awami League government or Awami apologists dilute their crimes and weaken justice dispensation.
