Editorial
Torching of train in Narsingdi
Culprits must face justice
Hell broke loose as activists of pro-ruling party student body Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) went violent in protest against the killing of Narsingdi mayor Lokman Hossain on Tuesday.
As if disruption of traffic movement by calling a strike and putting barricades on roads were not enough, they torched an intercity train next day.
Undoubtedly, those who were behind the killing of the mayor committed an outrage and deserve the highest punishment that the law provides. So, if the shocked followers of the mayor and their other fellow travellers in the BCL had any score to settle, they should have done it by making sure the killer was caught.
But what had the train or its passengers to do with the assassination? Unfortunately, their senseless act of vandalism inflicted immense damage to public property and caused enormous suffering to the passengers of the train.
While we commiserate with the bereaved family members of the mayor, we cannot accept under any circumstances the grave offence the BCL activists committed in the name of protests. The police, the members of the elite crime-busting outfit Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) did appear, but they could not stop the violence.
We are constrained to point fingers at the administration and the ruling Awami League (AL) for their sloth in handling the situation promptly. There is no question that the scenario in Narsingdi in the aftermath of the mayor's murder was one of law and order. In the same breath, it was also a party related issue as the AL's student activists were involved in the vandalism that ensued. But neither the administration nor the ruling party was prompt to act and control the situation.
This is quite contrary to what the government usually does during street agitation by the parties in opposition. They swoop down on them in no time.
The damage the pro-ruling party student activists have done in Narsingdi is simply unacceptable. The government must arrest the offenders who burnt the train, damaged other public properties, disrupted traffic and caused untold sufferings to the public and bring them to justice.
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