More than 72 percent terrorists on bail!

The figure is horrendous and unbelievable and speaks volumes about the woeful disjoint between the law enforcers and the legal process that should result in a good charge sheet and ensure conviction and not result in bail for the arrested terrorists. The statistic was revealed in a report in a national Bangla daily yesterday. The situation becomes even more horrific when one considers the fact that, according to RAB, all of the 546 of the 779 terrorists arrested between January 2016 and September 2017, and who got bail, belong to the proscribed JMB. The situation has severe long-term implications on our efforts to combat and eventually end religious extremism and terrorism in the country.

Clearly, the situation indicates that while the police is doing a good job in arresting the alleged terrorists, the sloppy investigation—which means weak charge sheet due to shoddy groundwork and lack of attention to details, as has been admitted by the attorney general—is resulting in such large and unacceptable percentage of them being at large on bail. These arrests are done randomly on flimsy grounds with ulterior motives by the law enforcing agencies. Regrettably, the consequence of this is that while innocents are caught and harassed, the real terrorists are getting out. And both must stop.

The situation demands a quick and long-term remedy. We suggest the government set up a special committee to go into the matter and suggest appropriate solutions. Also, it must monitor those alleged terrorists on bail very strictly to ensure that they do not indulge in their trade while out on bail.