Drive by law enforcers

In a series of special drives on Friday, police and the Rapid Action Battalion took as many as 418 people into custody. It has been given out that the arrests were made as part of security measures related to the Puja celebrations. Reports of bombs hoaxes at some puja mandaps in the capital certainly prompted these law enforcement drives. One surely cannot underplay the threats that may come in relation to religious or other collective celebrations and observances, which is why one fully understands the need for the security forces to be in a state of constant alert. No citizen will ever be inclined to disregard any question about ensuring the security of people at any given time.
That said, though, one wonders on what credible ground so many individuals were held up on Friday night. Of course, police and RAB sources have made it clear that most of the arrestees are muggers, snatchers and addicts. The first question which arises here is if the law enforcers knew about the identity of these people, how is it that no action was taken against them earlier and why is it that in one sudden swoop they were hauled away to the various police stations? The second question relates to the basis on which they have drawn the inference that the arrested individuals are all lawbreakers and so deserve to be detained? A good number of those taken into custody on Friday have vigorously protested their innocence before the media. One of them has said he is a bus driver; another noted that he just happened to be on the street when he was picked up. We would not like to suggest that it is always the poor who are the first and only target of the law enforcers, but that is the impression which has emerged from these and earlier arrests. Indeed, we have seen it all before. In the days of the BNP-led government between 2001 and 2006, instances of mass arrests, especially prior to an opposition political programme, turned into a veritable scandal. It is surely no one's desire that the old story be repeated, which is why the authorities must go carefully into the background of the arrestees, investigate the cases against the really offending ones and let go of the rest. In fact, the authorities should rethink strategy here. The record shows that those detained are eventually freed, but not before they and their families have undergone indescribable suffering.
The law enforcers can act on suspicion provided they have a strong case to back up such suspicion. But taking people into custody at random and so pushing them and their families into a state of uncertainty and grave suffering is repugnant to civic sensibilities. The nation's expectation is that such aberrations would not even unwittingly surface after the elections of last December. Unfortunately, we are yet to be convinced that things have changed.
This government has ascended to power on a platform of change. People expect it to live up to that principle.