Editorial
Abduction and killing
Distressing phenomenon
The attending circumstances of a BNP leader being abducted from his in-laws house in Kushtia, and whose handcuffed body with police marking was found 20 miles away several hours later, are very disturbing indeed. The victim was picked up, allegedly by RAB personnel, according to his relatives. But RAB has denied any knowledge of it. The intriguing bits are that the abductors wore RAB uniform and the car they drove away had RAB stickers on it. And the family was advised by the abductors to contact RAB office in Jhenidah.
The matter is extremely worrisome. If we are to accept the RAB version then are we to believe that there are gangs on the loose which are masquerading as law enforcing agencies. And handcuffs with 'police markings' apparently held the victim captive. If so, how could they find their way into the market assuming that the police had nothing to do with it? These are supposed to be restricted items and should the police have not seen to it that these are taken off the shelf, knowing that they are there and can be misused.
The statistics of forced disappearances and killings have been alarming. In three years between 2009 and 2012, around 157 people were victims of forced disappearance, some of who were political figures belonging to the opposition.
Such killings and disappearances, many of which have been linked to the law enforcing agencies by the victims' relatives, have cast a question mark on the performance of RAB, whose contribution otherwise, particularly in stemming the activities of proscribed religious extremists, has been exemplary.
Under the circumstances the burden of proof that its men were not involved in the abduction and death of the BNP leader is on RAB, and it will have to move quickly to apprehend the masqueraders if such incidents are not to happen in future. The agency must immediately go into the roots, to unearth the culprits of this and all the other cases of forced abduction. Otherwise it will have to bear the stigma of culpability for these deaths.
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