Editorial
Mob lynching
Police must act fast to stop it
We have yet another report of a mob beating up a youth brutally at Morelganj in Bagerhat. Frenzied villagers brutalised and damaged his eyes on the mere suspicion that he was a criminal before handing him to the police.
The victim youth was reportedly planning to shoot at the local municipality councillor. The exact circumstances of the incident, however, seemed somewhat murky, as the details of the police version and that of the injured youth do not match with each other. Had the police been able to act fast the untoward incident could have been avoided.
It is worthwhile to note that many such unfortunate incidents of beating up and savaging persons by infuriated mobs took place based purely on suspicion. There are even instances in which the police just looked on as the mobs swooped on their defenceless victims. We may recall here the killing of six youths at Aminbazar near the capital city last year.
Such mob action is often excused with the logic that frustrated at police inaction, or seeing that the criminals get away with their offence even after their arrest, people have started to take law into their own hands. But this is by all norms of law unacceptable and should not be encouraged.
All these constitute serious violation of law by mobs and hence punishable under law and hence punishable under law. Repetition of such barbaric incidents reflects badly on our image. While the police must be more active the community must also be involved to avert such mob lynching in the future.
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