How long will police overlook the killings?
National Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman yesterday came down heavily on the law enforcers, saying their nonchalance had caused the failure to ensure security to freethinkers.
"How long will our law enforcement agencies remain asleep?… how long will they watch bloggers being slain one after another?" he said.
The remarks came a day after secular blogger Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy was hacked to death inside his house in the capital's Goran.
He is the fourth blogger to die at the hands of suspected Islamist militants in the last six months.
“They keep saying they'd look into it and that the motive appears to be the same… So many bloggers have been killed; what have you been doing?" Mizan asked.
"Why people have to pass days amid insecurity? You have to answer this question," he said.
Mizan was addressing the unveiling ceremony of a book, "Muktijuddha: Sotter Mukhomukhi" (Liberation War: Encounter with Truth), written by former state minister for information Prof Abu Sayeed at the capital's Jatiya Press Club.
He urged the law enforcers to discharge duties sincerely so that people do not feel insecure and freethinkers can express themselves.
"The state must ensure security to every citizen," he viewed.
Earlier this year, suspected militants killed three secularist bloggers and writers -- Avijit Roy in February, Oyasiqur Rahman in March, and Ananta Bijoy Das in May.
Mizan also criticised law enforcers for misbehaving with victims of different incidents.
He specially cited the incident after the torturing of Samiul Alam Rajan to death by a group of brutes who accused the 13-year-old boy of "theft" in Sylhet on July 8.
"Rajan's father told me that police pushed him to the ground when he went to the police station to file a case after the killing," he said. "Such attitude of law enforcers must be ended."
About the Liberation War, Mizan said issuance of certificates to fake freedom fighters had turned into a business these days. It must be stopped in honour of the real freedom fighters, he said.
Talking about the new book, Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman said it would help people know about the accurate history of the Liberation War.
The writer, Prof Abu Sayeed, and noted columnist Syed Abul Maksud also spoke.
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