The National Human Rights Commission yesterday demanded that the government set a time frame to complete investigations into the recent sensational murders and forced disappearances.
The commission, led by its Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman, met Home Minister Shahara Khatun at the latter's secretariat office and placed a list of around 20 incidents of murder, forced disappearances and police assaults on journalists and women.
Shahara blamed the delay in the investigation into the murder of journalist couple Sagor Sarwar and Meherun Runi on the transfer of charge from one probe agency to another, Prof Mizanur told journalists on emerging from the meeting.
Of other issues, the murder of labour leader Aminul Islam and the disappearance of opposition leader M Ilias Ali featured in the hour-long meeting.
The commission also demanded faster legal action against recent human rights violations by law enforcers.
It requested the minister to consider its recommendations and observations on police officials' records in the human rights context before promoting them, the NHRC chairman said, adding that the home minister had accepted the proposal.
Some enthusiastic law-enforcers violated human rights, he said.
"We have urged the government to complete the investigations into the murders and human rights violations as fast as possible," Mizanur said.
Referring to recent reports of Amnesty International and the US State Department on the human rights situation in Bangladesh, he expressed grave concern over the law and order situation.
According to the reports, extrajudicial killings continued in 2011 in Bangladesh despite the government's repeated pledges to stop them.
The NHRC chairman, however, said the home minister's response to their suggestions and the report on the progress of the ongoing investigations that they had from the minister were satisfactory.