Three pieces of screaming news have rocked the country. The number one is the grisly murder of a member of parliament (MP) in Kolkata. Unlike this, the two others concern allegations of abuse of power for accumulation of wealth. Involved in the two cases are none other than a former inspector general of police (IGP) and a former chief of the Armed Forces. The Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court ordered, upon appeal by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC), for freezing the former IGP's 33 bank accounts and attachment of property he acquired under 83 deeds. Lastly the travel ban the US has slapped on the ex-army chief, although dismissed off-handed by ministers as a personal matter, cannot be taken so lightly.
Notably, the ex-police chief has also been barred from entering the USA allegedly for his questionable role during the time he held the top position of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). If the accusation made then were excesses including extra-judicial killing committed, this time the sanction on the ex-army chief is for alleged involvement in corruption on which the Al Jazeera carried a story but was not followed up by any administrative action.
Without being judgmental on either of the three incidents, it can be said that those do not at all brighten the image of the country. In case of the murder of an MP in another country, first time in its history, much as it may be a neighbouring one, it is the power and reach of criminals, as demonstrated, of this land that unnerve common people. The police in Kolkata and Dhaka are unanimous that the murder was meticulously planned in Bangladesh to be executed in Kolkata. Even more alarming is the fact that the mastermind of the crime lives in the USA and, according to reports, controls gold smuggling operation between Bangladesh and India.
Crime and corruption go hand in hand. This is the impression one gets. There are likely to be more such smugglers of gold and illicit drugs/fire arms, who control their underworld empires from abroad. How strange, people with criminal records or wanted by the police can get passports in fake names even in this digital age! Still stranger is the fact that such elements even get Indian visas when that country has even restrictions on medical visa because of its national elections. The mastermind involved in smuggling finds no difficulty to rent a flat in the posh area of the New Town, Kolkata.
It is, however, the infiltration of corrupt elements in politics or the latter corrupting or influencing uninitiated debutants to become corrupt that really makes the prospect of the country bleak. An overwhelming majority of candidates who sought nomination either for parliamentary or upazila chairman elections have accumulated wealth 20 to 300 times more, according to their affidavit. How is it possible unless the earning means are dubious? Supposing those who seek reelection had undue opportunities to make money but what about others who held no such positions and had no business whatsoever? Either they wield influence and power to clandestinely operate illicit activities such as sand lifting from rivers or controlling networks involved in hill cutting, exploiting forest resources, leading gangs of extortionists or fake manpower or multi-level marketing business.
Thus crime and corruption have conspired together to undermine the country's gains. It is this illegally accumulated wealth, more particularly in case of people in power and positions, that has its ripple effects on people down the rank. Never before did socio-economic disparities reach such a yawning level in this land. It is a thorn in flesh of the present Bangladesh society. Without addressing corruption and crime, the gaping inequality cannot be narrowed, let alone bridged.
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