Murder in broad daylight

We are horrified by the gruesome murder of Rifat Sharif, a 25-year-old man, in broad daylight in Barguna, in front of his wife who was desperately trying to save him. It reminds us of the brutal killings of Avijit Roy in front of his wife in 2015 near the Ekushey Boi Mela and of a young tailor Biswajit Das in Shakharibazar in 2012.

In Rifat's case, if it weren't for a video footage taken by a bystander that went viral on social media, we would not have realised the extent of the brutality and the audacity of the attackers who took Rifat's life. Clips from the video show how this young man was mercilessly assaulted with sharp weapons. It is obvious that these murderers were quite confident that they would get away with such a heinous crime.

The question is: why would they feel so confident? According to reports, the attackers identified by eyewitnesses are involved in mugging and drug trade. If locals know that these are criminals, why haven't the law enforcers arrested them before?

It is a relief that one of them has been arrested but what about the rest? The assailants can be identified through the video footage so apprehending them should not be so difficult. We urge the authorities to make sure the investigation into this case is thorough, quick and delivers justice to Rifat and his family. Unless these diabolical elements are removed from the streets, people of Barguna and elsewhere in the country will continue to live in terror and precious lives will be lost.