When innocent made to suffer, govt loses most
Innocents falling prey to police brutality are anything but rare in this country, and the latest addition to the long list of such victims is Limon. Still in his teens, Limon serves as a grim reminder of how a section of law enforcers operates with impunity and little regard for human rights. His sufferings bring to mind the ordeal of Partha.
Partha was 24 when he was detained in 2004 for allegedly issuing a death threat by email to the then leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina. He had just returned from India after completing MBA in Chennai and been looking for a job.
Why he was taken to jail remains a mystery till this day.Like him and Limon, many innocent people end up being on the receiving end of torture by the very ones assigned by the state to protect them.For instance, some Rab men last year tried to frame a person in Satkhira by planting firearms on him.
In 2004, when now-deceased noted intellectual Humayun Azad was attacked by militants, police officials, to everyone's surprise, had arrested, tortured and tried to implicate Dhaka University student Mohammad Abu Abbas Bhuiyan.
All these incidents raise questions what makes law enforcersvictimise innocent people and why the government tends to defend such rogue cops.
While these queries require in-depth investigations, one view that is broadly shared is the government stands to lose most when innocents suffer at the hands of law enforcers. Experts say in many cases police set up people to divert the course of investigation and save the real culprits.
Law enforcers mainly target those who are easy to pick and are not on a strong footing in terms of political connections or money. The victims of this kind are usually beset by insecurity and thus more likely to behave in the way the cops want.
If they fail to follow the dictates of law enforcers or higher authorities, they find themselves implicated in many more cases that are false.
Immediately after release from jail in 2005, Partha told this correspondent how police and intelligence officials had tried to lure him into making confessions. They said he would be paid any sums and sent to any country he wanted.
"Otherwise, they threatened, they will bury me alive," Partha said narrating the harrowing experience.
Some analysts say when policemen make mistakes during operations, they get so desperate to cover up those mistakes that they make up stories and stand by those.Not only that, they fabricate different charges against their victim to show how notorious a criminal he is.
In these cases, the high-ups usually defend their colleagues to save face of the force. And the culprit officers get away with misdeeds.Whatever the reasons behind police violence, the demand for accountability of the law enforcement and intelligence officials has grown ever louder.
Frequent transgressions on the part of law enforcers and the government bring into question the integrity of those who are responsible for protecting the citizenry.While it has yet to be seen what happens to Limon in the end, one thing is obvious: his family's views of the government and law enforcers will never be the same again.
As if losing a leg in Rab fire was not enough, Limon was made accused in two cases and sent to jail soon after his release from hospital.
Partha, meanwhile, is plumbing the depths of despair for the disaster that turned his life upside down six years back. As he struggles to continue in a job and be the breadwinner for his family in the village, the memories of the days in custody still haunt him like a ghost.
The list of people who have been victims of police brutality does not stop with these two. Alongside custodial deaths and extra-judicial killings, the practice of bringing false charges against politicians, intellectuals, teachers, journalists and other professionals goes on unabated.
Killing "criminals" in the name of "crossfire" and falsely implicating people out of political vengeance have long made ethics and principles a thing of the past for the law enforcers and the government. Yet, when innocents like Partha and Limon fall victims, it adds to the sense of insecurity among the ordinary people.
Talking to this correspondent lately, Partha observed that no individual can be sure that he is safe from police brutality, no matter how plain a life he leads.It was clear to everyone that the harassments Partha endured had only discredited the then government.
With that experience in mind, what this government would gain by walking down the same path with regard to Limon remains to be seen.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=184876
Partha was 24 when he was detained in 2004 for allegedly issuing a death threat by email to the then leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina. He had just returned from India after completing MBA in Chennai and been looking for a job.
Why he was taken to jail remains a mystery till this day.Like him and Limon, many innocent people end up being on the receiving end of torture by the very ones assigned by the state to protect them.For instance, some Rab men last year tried to frame a person in Satkhira by planting firearms on him.
In 2004, when now-deceased noted intellectual Humayun Azad was attacked by militants, police officials, to everyone's surprise, had arrested, tortured and tried to implicate Dhaka University student Mohammad Abu Abbas Bhuiyan.
All these incidents raise questions what makes law enforcersvictimise innocent people and why the government tends to defend such rogue cops.
While these queries require in-depth investigations, one view that is broadly shared is the government stands to lose most when innocents suffer at the hands of law enforcers. Experts say in many cases police set up people to divert the course of investigation and save the real culprits.
Law enforcers mainly target those who are easy to pick and are not on a strong footing in terms of political connections or money. The victims of this kind are usually beset by insecurity and thus more likely to behave in the way the cops want.
If they fail to follow the dictates of law enforcers or higher authorities, they find themselves implicated in many more cases that are false.
Immediately after release from jail in 2005, Partha told this correspondent how police and intelligence officials had tried to lure him into making confessions. They said he would be paid any sums and sent to any country he wanted.
"Otherwise, they threatened, they will bury me alive," Partha said narrating the harrowing experience.
Some analysts say when policemen make mistakes during operations, they get so desperate to cover up those mistakes that they make up stories and stand by those.Not only that, they fabricate different charges against their victim to show how notorious a criminal he is.
In these cases, the high-ups usually defend their colleagues to save face of the force. And the culprit officers get away with misdeeds.Whatever the reasons behind police violence, the demand for accountability of the law enforcement and intelligence officials has grown ever louder.
Frequent transgressions on the part of law enforcers and the government bring into question the integrity of those who are responsible for protecting the citizenry.While it has yet to be seen what happens to Limon in the end, one thing is obvious: his family's views of the government and law enforcers will never be the same again.
As if losing a leg in Rab fire was not enough, Limon was made accused in two cases and sent to jail soon after his release from hospital.
Partha, meanwhile, is plumbing the depths of despair for the disaster that turned his life upside down six years back. As he struggles to continue in a job and be the breadwinner for his family in the village, the memories of the days in custody still haunt him like a ghost.
The list of people who have been victims of police brutality does not stop with these two. Alongside custodial deaths and extra-judicial killings, the practice of bringing false charges against politicians, intellectuals, teachers, journalists and other professionals goes on unabated.
Killing "criminals" in the name of "crossfire" and falsely implicating people out of political vengeance have long made ethics and principles a thing of the past for the law enforcers and the government. Yet, when innocents like Partha and Limon fall victims, it adds to the sense of insecurity among the ordinary people.
Talking to this correspondent lately, Partha observed that no individual can be sure that he is safe from police brutality, no matter how plain a life he leads.It was clear to everyone that the harassments Partha endured had only discredited the then government.
With that experience in mind, what this government would gain by walking down the same path with regard to Limon remains to be seen.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=184876
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