Abduction takes its toll on business

The growing incidence of kidnapping and abduction for ransom has caused deep worries among the country's businesses in general. The fear has been getting stronger in the absence of effective actions to nab such abductors and kidnappers. Of late, the government appears to have realised the urgency for the situation.
Abduction of seven in Narayanganj in broad daylight and later their brutal murder are merely the tip of an iceberg. The High Court (HC) has meanwhile ordered arrest of three former defence personnel who were on secondment to the RAB, on the basis of several circumstantial evidences. The very dismissal of the three, earlier by the authorities concerned, has provided a testimony to a prima facie proof of their involvement in the abduction and murder of the seven victims. It is high time for the government to arrest such former RAB personnel in accordance with the order of the HC.
In the aftermath of the brutal incident in Narayanganj, the directive to stop arrest of persons by plain clothes police personnel  and the order to remove non-transparent glasses from all kinds of vehicles have been issued by the government. Such actions are purported to helping reduce the incidence of abductions and kidnappings and removing the fear factor among all concerned citizens. As incidents of abduction on different parts of the country revealed, kidnappers used microbuses and cars, having tinted glasses through which none outside could see what was really happening inside. Thus the criminals not only dodged police patrol on the roads but also made good their escape as scuffles inside could not be viewed from outside. The law-enforcers have already swung into action by imposing fines on violators of the deadline to remove the tinted glasses. But what is worrisome is that more than 50,000 microbuses and cars, imported with built-in tinted glasses, have been allowed to ply the roads as owners of these vehicles could not find such glasses readily available in the market to replace the coloured ones. But who can say for sure that some of these vehicles won't be used by the criminals to carry on hostage-taking and killings for ransom or for other purposes? There is no denying of the need for the authorities concerned to extend the deadline for such vehicles for replacement of tinted glasses at the earliest. But plying of such vehicles for an indefinite period will defeat the very purpose of the related govt. circular.
In several cases in the past, it was reported in the media that the Detective Branch (DB) or the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel in plain-clothes dumped the suspects or the accused into their vehicles without letting anybody know about it. The law-enforcers also made it known after two or three days that the persons bundled in their vehicles were in their custody. But then why do they adopt this tactic? They can arrest the suspects showing valid reasons as per law and then hand them over to the police stations for follow-up actions legally.
The incidence of abduction must be contained as early as possible. A close monitoring of activities of the law-enforcers by a competent authority brooks no delay so that the powers given to them are not misused as it was done in many cases in the past. Kidnappings of moneyed persons are now frequent, with businesspeople bearing their serious consequences. As a result, the performance of the economy is poised to face yet another blow after late last year's prolonged political turmoil.