Nabbing Rab delinquents
IT is very disconcerting to come across a recent report of extortion through threat of death by some members of the elite force. We are happy to see that the three Rab men involved in the incident have been handed over to the police for legal action following complaints of extortion of more than Taka ten lakh from a businessman.
While we appreciate the prompt working of Rab's internal mechanism in taking note of the complaint and in initiating action against the offenders without delay, the question is how come such delinquents find place in the ranks of an elite force like the Rab in the first place?
Some incidences of similar nature cannot but raise a degree of apprehension in public mind, not to speak of the great damage they can do to public confidence in the elite force. It is a travesty that those whom people look up to for protection against such criminals are themselves the perpetrators of these felonies.
Given that the force is composed of members of the armed forces and other elite agencies, and a very strict process of selection is gone through before secondment, can the public be expected to repose their trust on it after the very bad example in front of them? One wonders whether public dealings are making the members of the special force susceptible to corruption. If that be so then a foolproof mechanism should be put in place as a safeguard against such proclivity.
We are concerned too at the fact that the victim allegedly was threatened with death by crossfire if he did not pay up. Rab must be alive to the fact that their credibility has taken a great knock due to the many incidents of crossfire and encounter killings. And this allegation, if true, corroborates the accusation of unlawful killings that have been leveled by the media and the human rights organisations from time to time against the elite force.
While curative action is welcome it is more important to ensure that such malaise does not enter the system in the first place. All efforts must be made so that the members of the elite force do not act in a manner that replicates those of the criminals and murderers. Not only should exemplary punishment be meted out to the delinquent members of the force, strict supervision must be also enforced on the ground level operatives at all times.
Comments