Published on 12:00 AM, March 07, 2013

Prosecution of Biswajit's killers

Bring all the accused to book

Nearly three months after Biswajit Das's killing during a road blockade programme enforced  by BNP and its alliance partners, the police have brought charges of murder against 21 activists of BCL. It is reassuring for the victim's family that the police have finally taken a serious and definitive step to bring the killers to justice.
We commend the government for this albeit delayed measures to try the killers without consideration of the political colours of the accused.
It is worthwhile to note that all the BCL cadres accused in the case have been named in the FIR. But no warrant has been issued against them. This calls into question if adequate legal measures are in place to apprehend those who are still beyond the grip of the law.
The 14 accused BCL men still in hiding have to be arrested. The police need to pursue them in earnest  and vigourously to bring them to book.
Biswajit Das, a tailor by profession, was passing by Bahadur Shah Park on the fateful day of December 09, 2012 when a road blockade programme enforced by the BNP led 18 party alliance was in progress.
Mistaking him for a pro-blockade activist, the  BCL activists chased and caught the hapless youth,  mercilessly beat up and hacked him to death, ignoring all his pleas for mercy and that he was an innocent pedestrian.
Sadly though, the butchery took place before the eyes of the police. And their questionable role as to why they failed to intervene to save the victim also calls for due enquiry by the home ministry.
Now that the due course of law is activated and in progress, the law-enforcement department should issue warrants against all the charge-sheeted accused,  search them out and prosecute them in the court of law.