When protectors become victims
YET again, police have come under attack in hartal violence perpetrated by political agitators. According to news reports, since the handing down of the death penalty verdict to Delwar Hossain Sayedee at the end of February, eight police personnel have been killed and over 300 injured in clashes between law enforcers and opposition activists. Three police officers are currently undergoing treatment -- one of them in critical condition -- following violence on the Jessore-Magura highway on the first day of the last 36-hour shutdown. The scene of a police officer's head being bludgeoned in a previous incident was covered widely by the media and is still fresh in our minds.
The police represent a face of the government, of the nation's law and order, and such unabated attacks on them bring into question not only the demonstators' respect for the law but also the state of national security. What is the government doing to protect its own law enforcing agencies who are responsible for the protection of the people? How can such crimes be committed against law enforcers themselves and when they are, what message does it convey regarding the security of the common people of the country?
We believe it is high time the government took up the issue with special emphasis. Attacks against law enforcers must stop. They must be provided with adequate training and resources to protect themselves against such violence. Perpetrators of crimes against law enforcers must be dealt with promptly and firmly in order to deter them from such acts in future. We must also draw the attention of the political leaders to the increasingly common, unacceptable policy of assaulting officers of the law.
The police for their part should mount human intelligence to gather information about any impending attack and prevent it, failing which they must apply techniques to control the mobs according to best practices.
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