Warning about the free falling law and order situation
Monday, 27 April 2009
Mahbubur Rahman
The media in the country have been noted for carrying intermittent reports during the last one month--coinciding with the crime wave--about reappearance of dons of the underworld who were not spotted for nearly twenty-four months as a sequel to the emergency laws in operation and the tough hunt for them by the law enforcers under the caretaker government. Their reappearance is probably partly out of a feeling on the part of some of them that the withdrawal of emergency laws and the relaxed attitude of policemen and other law enforcers in the wake of the national elections has created the environment for them not to feel so nervous and to step out in the open from sensing a more favourable situation for resumption of their criminal activities. Another reason for their comeback has been the obtaining of bail by a record number of them who were earlier arrested and kept in jails. It appears that many of them could successfully get bail in recent times and more of them are awaiting similar release.
It would not matter if the gang leaders who are getting bail would make up their mind to utilise their freedom responsibly in repentance and forswearing crime. But as it is, nearly all of them are very swiftly taking charge of their past rackets and launching afresh into criminality as if to make up for their lost time. To these factors of released and reappearing dons of the underworld is attributed the crime wave which is currently sweeping the country.
Government has no doubt reacted to the concern about deteriorating law and order conditions. But the reactions have been limited to mainly urging and exhorting the law enforcement agencies to be more vigilant and do a better job. But it does not seem that only heaping orders on these agencies to deliver will quite work under the circumstances. A far better leadership, supervision and guidance from the ministry that should be concerned and even by the Prime Minister's office, are needed to rein in the free falling law and order conditions. This writer for one does not think that law and order in the present context of Bangladesh can be only improved from seemingly greater vigilance activities on the part of the police and other law enforcers. The improvement depends on positive achievements to be attained in other areas.
For example, the staging of a comeback by big names of the underworld and their restarting their old calling almost immediately is correctly considered to be a very big reason for the fresh crime resurgence. Now, the coming back of these top criminals to once again mastermind their rackets marks a grave lapse on the part of the judiciary and the police, although the blame should go more to the latter. Weak police investigations or purposefully conducted such impotent investigations lead to not presenting enough evidences against them in courts for the courts to turn down their bail petitions. Employing suave and talented lawyers who can argue the cases skillfully that their clients deserve bail on grounds of insufficient evidences against them, the courts in most cases feel only obliged to grant them bail as part of their meticulously observing the sprit and provisions of the law.
So the government has to delve deep into these matters. It has to ensure the whipping up of enough cleansing and energizing actions within the ranks of the police to ensure that investigation processes are conducted promptly, efficiently and incorruptibly, to ensure presentation of sufficiently strong charge-sheets against the arrested crime dons that would disqualify them for getting bail. At the same time, the activities of the police must be so redesigned that big underworld names who have lived abroad during the last couple of years but would like to return to Bangladesh from a perceived sense of relaxation in conditions here, actually feel discouraged from taking that step from knowing afresh that conditions have not changed and they would risk immediate arrest and detention to face charges on return or reappearance.
Political resolve is also very important. It was reported in the media that many well known crime lords are flexing again their muscles by asserting that they have the protection of a section of the politically powerup ones in the current power matrix. This claim has to be looked into but what is so very important for the government is to declare that it will not tolerate, even tacitly, such political sheltering. Government should declare in ringing tone zero tolerance to the ones claiming such political shelter and, more importantly, to the actual shelter givers if there are any. It should also demonstrate in a very convincing manner and in a number of cases what it says in this regard.
The media in the country have been noted for carrying intermittent reports during the last one month--coinciding with the crime wave--about reappearance of dons of the underworld who were not spotted for nearly twenty-four months as a sequel to the emergency laws in operation and the tough hunt for them by the law enforcers under the caretaker government. Their reappearance is probably partly out of a feeling on the part of some of them that the withdrawal of emergency laws and the relaxed attitude of policemen and other law enforcers in the wake of the national elections has created the environment for them not to feel so nervous and to step out in the open from sensing a more favourable situation for resumption of their criminal activities. Another reason for their comeback has been the obtaining of bail by a record number of them who were earlier arrested and kept in jails. It appears that many of them could successfully get bail in recent times and more of them are awaiting similar release.
It would not matter if the gang leaders who are getting bail would make up their mind to utilise their freedom responsibly in repentance and forswearing crime. But as it is, nearly all of them are very swiftly taking charge of their past rackets and launching afresh into criminality as if to make up for their lost time. To these factors of released and reappearing dons of the underworld is attributed the crime wave which is currently sweeping the country.
Government has no doubt reacted to the concern about deteriorating law and order conditions. But the reactions have been limited to mainly urging and exhorting the law enforcement agencies to be more vigilant and do a better job. But it does not seem that only heaping orders on these agencies to deliver will quite work under the circumstances. A far better leadership, supervision and guidance from the ministry that should be concerned and even by the Prime Minister's office, are needed to rein in the free falling law and order conditions. This writer for one does not think that law and order in the present context of Bangladesh can be only improved from seemingly greater vigilance activities on the part of the police and other law enforcers. The improvement depends on positive achievements to be attained in other areas.
For example, the staging of a comeback by big names of the underworld and their restarting their old calling almost immediately is correctly considered to be a very big reason for the fresh crime resurgence. Now, the coming back of these top criminals to once again mastermind their rackets marks a grave lapse on the part of the judiciary and the police, although the blame should go more to the latter. Weak police investigations or purposefully conducted such impotent investigations lead to not presenting enough evidences against them in courts for the courts to turn down their bail petitions. Employing suave and talented lawyers who can argue the cases skillfully that their clients deserve bail on grounds of insufficient evidences against them, the courts in most cases feel only obliged to grant them bail as part of their meticulously observing the sprit and provisions of the law.
So the government has to delve deep into these matters. It has to ensure the whipping up of enough cleansing and energizing actions within the ranks of the police to ensure that investigation processes are conducted promptly, efficiently and incorruptibly, to ensure presentation of sufficiently strong charge-sheets against the arrested crime dons that would disqualify them for getting bail. At the same time, the activities of the police must be so redesigned that big underworld names who have lived abroad during the last couple of years but would like to return to Bangladesh from a perceived sense of relaxation in conditions here, actually feel discouraged from taking that step from knowing afresh that conditions have not changed and they would risk immediate arrest and detention to face charges on return or reappearance.
Political resolve is also very important. It was reported in the media that many well known crime lords are flexing again their muscles by asserting that they have the protection of a section of the politically powerup ones in the current power matrix. This claim has to be looked into but what is so very important for the government is to declare that it will not tolerate, even tacitly, such political sheltering. Government should declare in ringing tone zero tolerance to the ones claiming such political shelter and, more importantly, to the actual shelter givers if there are any. It should also demonstrate in a very convincing manner and in a number of cases what it says in this regard.