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Fuel price hike was avoidable ''BPC's Tk 48,000cr profit overstated; now to make Tk 205cr per month" Child killed as school gate falls on him BRT project: DMP urges Dhaka airport-bound passengers to start early Impact of fuel price hike being assessed: Finance Minister Reckless motorcycle riding leaves 2 friends dead in Jashore Passengers at mass hearing share bitter experiences at the Dhaka airport State Bank of India to manage visa centres in Bangladesh for 2 more years, agreement signed Sri Lanka proposes constitutional amendment to clip presidential powers Martin Scorsese lauds local entrepreneur and filmmaker as “pioneer of cinema” Exploring mental health in superhero shows Parties sitting together hallmark of democracy ‘When you lose after scoring 300, 250 looks like 200’ With or without Shakib is the question US the main instigator behind Ukraine crisis: China
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Editorial

Can police just kill people on the streets?

Accountability and immediate reforms are vital to stop this
Mon Aug 1, 2022 07:57 PM Last update on: Mon Aug 1, 2022 08:05 PM
VISUAL: STAR

On the same day that the home minister told journalists that law enforcement agencies would not restrict BNP if they hold peaceful programmes, one BNP activist was killed allegedly by police fire while scores were injured after a procession was blocked by police in Bhola. According to local BNP activists, who were protesting the rise in fuel prices and load shedding in the country, they had taken verbal permission to organise a rally and a procession. However, the police contest that the party did not take permission for the procession specifically, and that BNP supporters hurled brick chips and glass bottles at them when they intercepted it.

1 killed as police, BNP activists clash in Bhola

Read more

Let us assume that the police version of events is the correct one. Let us put aside the fact that in an ideal society, you would not need to request permission to exercise your right to protest. Let us also accept that it was the BNP protesters who became violent first. Even in these circumstances, is it fair for the police to use live bullets to bring a situation "under control"? Can the police become judge, jury and executioner and end the life of a man for hurling brick chips? Are there no methods of maintaining law and order other than using such excessive force? Equally importantly, what message does it send to the opposition political camp, especially when BNP is refusing to participate in the upcoming national election fearing undue interferences from the ruling party?

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Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal

No bar on BNP to hold peaceful demos: minister

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BNP activist Abdur Rahim is not the first person in the past week to have been killed after police interventions. On July 27, seven-month-old Sumaiya was shot in her mother's lap during election violence in Thakurgaon. On that evening too, the police were attacked by supporters of a defeated contestant, and apparently they opened fire in self-defence. The fact that an infant ended up being killed demonstrates just how reckless this firing must have been. Despite there being a provision in the police code for firing into the ground to frighten rioters, or at knee height to cause injury, we continue to see deaths as a result of lethal force from the police.

Every public institution run with taxpayers' money must be accountable to the people. This is all the more crucial for law enforcement agencies who are the only force legally empowered to detain, question, threaten, and sometimes even take the life of a citizen. A force with such power must adhere to the highest ethical standards, and follow procedure to the letter. Yet, what we continue to witness in Bangladesh can only be described as an abuse of power and a miscarriage of justice. Without accountability and immediate reforms, we fear more citizens will continue to die or suffer at the hands of law enforcement agencies.

Related topic
police brutality in Bangladesh / Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) / human rights abuses
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1 killed as police, BNP activists clash in Bhola

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No bar on BNP to hold peaceful demos: minister

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৬ ঘণ্টা আগে|বিদ্যুৎ ও জ্বালানি

জ্বালানি তেলে ৩৭ শতাংশ শুল্ক বাতিলের দাবি

জ্বালানি তেলে সরকার নির্ধারিত ৩৭ শতাংশ শুল্ক ও কর বাতিলের দাবি জানিয়েছেন একদল তরুণ।

৭ ঘণ্টা আগে|যাওয়া-আসা

‘বিমানবন্দর ও এয়ারলাইন্স কর্মকর্তারা আমাদের যেন ন্যূনতম সম্মান দেন’

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