Police turn muggers?
The police seem to have gone on a crime binge despite the diatribe that
is being directed against them from all quarters. In the latest show of shameless greed
some officials and constables of the Khilgaon Police Station snatched nearly two lakh
takas from a local trader, but when the people around sensed what was going on they caught
the policemen, beat them up and then kept them confined in a house for hours. A contingent
of police force later rescued them from there and brought them to the safety of the police
station from where one officer and one constable managed to escape. According to reports
the rescued officials have confessed to their involvement in the snatching of the money.
The escape angered the mob further and they staged demonstration in front of the police
station demanding their arrest and punishment.
It may be worth remembering that a young man was allegedly beaten to
death by the police officers of the same police station only a week before and the case is
still under investigation. What is incredible in this sordid episode is that when all eyes
of the people are fixed on this very police station, the officials, instead of feeling
guilty or remorseful for the untimely death of a fellow being, dared to venture out to
fulfil a scheme that was not only illegal but profane too in this holy month of Ramzan. It
is an ample indication that the corrupt police personnel are unstoppable in their hunt for
money and they are least repentant for their immoral acts. Can a society progress when its
police force turns into muggers and murderers?
We have no words to express our indignation and our fear thinking about
the days ahead. We are scared to send our young men and women out lest they would be
caught by the police for no reason whatsoever and send back home lifeless in a casket. We
have no courage to go to the police station to file a case against the rogue police
personnel who perpetrate such acts of terror openly on the very people whom they are
supposed to protect. By the look of things it seems there is no higher authority over the
police personnel-turned-criminals who reign from the police stations. We hear of policemen
being 'closed' but never hear of putting them in the dock like other criminals and tried
and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment. One or two rare trials in decades are too scanty
to put fear in the minds of the criminally disposed policemen.
It is time the concerned authorities tell us in clear words what
measure they are going to take to put the brakes on the criminality of policemen who defy
the laws of the land. The people have the right to know why and how the crimes committed
by the policemen usually gets lost in the labyrinth of departmental bureaucracy. They also
want to know why the Ministry of Home Affairs does not say a word or two to assure the
people in this regard.
Myanmar's Muslims
The fresh round of anti-Muslim riots in Myanmar is to be viewed with
utmost concern. This is not the first time; Myanmar's Muslim community is repeatedly
subjected to atrocities and persecution. Persecution of Rohingya Muslisms has been going
on for decades but this has not drawn the attention of the international human rights
organisations in any noticeable way. Even when there is no physical persecution Muslims
have been put under various restrictions. They were prevented from practising their
religion freely. A kind of religious apartheid has been imposed against the Muslims by the
military junta. They are not given jobs. In a country where practically all jobs are
controlled by the government the plight of the Muslim minority resulting from their
exclusion from employment can be easily imagined.
The last wave of influx of refugees from Myanmar took place in 1991-92
when half a million Rohingyas arrived in Bangladesh to escape the persecution of the
state. After long and patient negotiation and intervention of the UN High Commission of
Refugees it was possible to repatriate most of them but some 20,000 still remain.
Myanmar not being an open country news from there does not filter
across easily but according to available reports anti-Muslim riots have been taking place
in some areas during the last few days and panic-stricken Muslims have thronged near
Bangladesh border. Bangladesh Rifles and police have tightened vigilance along the border
to prevent fresh influx of refugees. The intensified patrol is understandable when it is
considered that this country just cannot afford to bear any further burden of refugees
resulting from racist policy of a neighbouring country. But measures for protection of the
life, liberty property and religious freedom of Muslims must be initiated. Intense
diplomatic move should be started to deal with the situation. The OIC, assuming that it
has gathered a fresh tempo after the recent conference, should be mobilised.
Myanmar is not the only country where Muslim minorities are persecuted
but it makes a difference when a government itself seeks to extirpate a section of its own
population. The Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan said that the on-going violence
in Myanmar will have no impact on relations between the two countries. There is no scope
for disagreement with the minister. Friendship must be maintained but the country's border
must be secured and fellow Muslims in a neighbouring country must be helped to save
themselves from indignities. If this can be achieved within the framework of goodwill and
friendship, so much the better.
Cricket blues
Flattering to deceive: this has been the feature of Bangladesh cricket
ever since it got the Test status. Since then it has been a series of resounding defeats
interspersed with some good individual performances. However this series against England
promised to be different.
The team's fine showing in Pakistan fired hopes of the millions of
fans. Though the side lost all the Test matches the performance was better than ever
before. Especially in the last Test at Multan Bangladesh was on the verge of victory,
being thwarted only by an exceptional showing from one of the finest batsmen of modern
times Inzamam Ul Huq. So when the England team arrived in Bangladesh for a two Test series
people were expecting that history would be made with Bangladesh winning for the first
time. Even the sceptics among the fans said that Bangladesh would put up a tough fight and
England would not find the going easy. England had a relatively inexperienced side with
many of their players having played fewer Tests than the Bangladeshis. Especially their
bowling looked quite weak on paper. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, cricket is not played on
paper but on the field. And on the field England's aggressive approach paid off and
Bangladesh surrendered not with a bang but with a whimper.
Bangladesh looked totally out of sorts and never seemed capable of
pulling of a draw, let alone a victory. So where does the team go from here. Perhaps
cricket in Bangladesh is back to square one with the future looking none too bright. The
poor showing at home will strengthen the voice of those who believe that Bangladesh should
not have got the Test status in the first place. Bangladesh can silence the naysayers only
with good performance on the playing fields. However the track record does not inspire
much optimism. This series has been a particularly disappointing one. And if the players
do not make a marked improvement soon the future looks rather bleak.
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