Rapid trial to an unjust killing
Exposes discriminatory system's dual meaning.
Lack of legitimacy and moral high ground
Makes an institution lose the battle on the ground.
Last week a court in Cox's Bazaar sentenced two police personnel to death and three others to life imprisonment in connection with killing of a former Army major in Marine Drive,Cox's Bazaar1.The killing of Army major in the narco ville of Cox’s Bazaar, where one of the prime accused OC Pradeep executed 144 people extra-judicially, caused lots of media sensation in 2020.
It was widely reported on the press that Major(retired)Sinha and his team was doing some kind of travel docu for social media or foreign channel during the time when the country was in strict lockdown. There were reports that claimed that he was there undercover to investigate the unusual killing in Teknaf, small town adjacent to Myanmar and key methamphetamine corridor. But he squeezed OC Pradeep in his face-to-face encounter and got himself killed by OC Pradeep and his men who waylaid Dhaka-bound Major Sinha on Marine Drive,Cox's Bazaar. By the time he was doing the travel docu,Major Sinha ,a former member of Prime Minister’s special security force, retired from the Army. On the other hand, Army on several occasions dissuaded him from doing this and even approached his mother to tell her son not to do that.
It was still unclear what Major Sinha's objective was in Cox's Bazaar. But his killing and the subsequent trial brought to fore discriminatory nature of Bangladesh’s legal system.
In 2018,two years earlier of Major(retired) Sinha killing, another extra judicial killing of a counselor in Teknaf shocked the nation2.Viral audio of the killing was particularly shocking.This killing of counselor Ekram was instrumental behind imposing US sanctions on RAB and its then DG,now IGP of Police. Despite the media publicity and international pressure, culprits have not yet been brought to book. Meanwhile, trial on Major(retired) Sinha was finished within 29 working days. For the man-in-fatigue justice speaks one way and for the ordinary citizens it speaks another way.
As Major(retired) Sinha was a military officer, retired army officers formed a committee to probe on the matter. One of the member of that committee, former principal staff officer and brother of current DNCC mayor, told the press that it was a coldblooded murder and Sinha did not engage in any gun battle.Had he really engaged,he might have shot 8 rounds straight into target in a matter of 5 seconds. Moreover, he urged the government to end all extra judicial killing in the name of war on drugs and declare amnesty.
Those pleas washed away long ago. Many more chilling killing took place after that. Day after the Sinha verdict,High Court upheld a lower court's decision to sentence a man(belonging to Hindu faith) to life imprisonment for carrying codeine-filled syrup3. No sign of amnesty here for a peddler!
Meanwhile, UNODC on its report noted that drug making ingredients entered Myanmar through its neighbors including Bangladesh4. Even Myanmar echoed that report.So far,Bangladesh did not refute that claim, nor demand any explanation. I have not seen yet any ISPR press release, nor any Foreign Ministry protest.
In one of my earlier pieces, I highlighted how security establishment-backed groups made a fortune and amassed wealth in offshore haven while a war on drugs is going on5. Most of the regional drug barrons also bank and reside in those offshore havens. While this kind of backing is inflating their wallets,narcotic substance is spreading across the country.
Meanwhile, many poor peasant folks, fired workers, petty employees,homeless people,unemployed---the very people these agencies were to protect through their prior information and superior knowledge---were fell victims to drug trafficking and paid heavy price. Not only that clandestine wealth backed sectors like real-estate just flourished. In many instances, these agencies were used to deal with disputes in controversial sectors.
Last year, a land dispute near Mirpur DOHS,Pallabi witnessed murder of a man by a goon.The whole incident was caught on camera. Later RAB in a gunfight killed the prime suspect who could provide the investigators the lead to the main plotters.
In another incident in Cumilla, where a communal stirring witnessed vandalism in several Hindu temples and killing of people across Bangladesh, RAB killed key suspects,member of a former mayor, who could lead to crack the mystery behind the communal attacks.
Many of the controversial e-commerce platforms that were used to launder money abroad indirectly owned by corrupt law-enforcement official. E-orange and inspector Sohel Rana are the names to be mentioned.
Agencies conducting the so called war on drugs have lost moral high ground long ago. In addition, many of them suffers from lack of legitimacy in the eyes of the public. In the past, some of them derailed democracy, killed C-in-Cs. No official probe is done. What is worrying some of these institutions is not accountable to press, Parliament and people. With biasedness, lack of legitimacy and less transparency, these agencies continue to operate as usual. Let the Sinha murder verdict be an occasion to start constitutional reform to hold these institutions accountable and transparent rather than giving them a boost to do things as usual.
Notes And References:
1 “Sinha Hotyakanda Chhilo Porikolpito(Sinha Murder Was Pre-planned)”,Gazi Feroz,Daily Prothom Alo,February 01,2022.
2 “Bhoot Ke Bhoy Lage Na, Manush Ke Bhoy Lage( I Don’t Scare Ghost, But I Scare People) “,Gazi Feroz and Gias Uddin,Daily Prothom Alo,February 03,2022.
3 “Fencidyl Rakhar Daye Ek Byaktir Jabojjibon(Man Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For Possessing Fencidyl)”,Daily Prothom Alo,February 02,2022.
4 “UNODC Report And Meth Market Bangladesh”,Rezaul Hoque,July 25,2019. For more read at https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2019/07/unodc-report-meth-market-of-bangladesh.html?m=1
5 “An Interview And Power Of Pacifism “,Rezaul Hoque, January 07,2022. For more, read at
https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2022/01/an-interview-and-power-of-pacifism.html?m=1