Will the 'gunfights' not end?

There has been continuous criticism against the extrajudicial killings carried out by members of the law enforcement agencies, in the name of gunfights, but the killings continue. It almost seems that it has become a permanent procedure to kill the criminals rather than punish them duly through legal process. The constitution calls for the country to be run in accordance to the rule of law. Planned and regular violation of this is totally unacceptable.

In Patuakhali, a man named Tariqul Islam alias Kala Bhai was missing since 17 July. Ten days later he was killed in a 'gunfight' with RAB.

RAB and the police claim Tariqul had 28 to 30 charges against him, including murder, robbery, extortion and other criminal activities. They have tried to justify his killing by highlighting him as a criminal. This is a reflection of the law enforcement agencies' mindset. But it is not lawful to simply shoot and kill anyone just because he is a criminal, even a murderer. That itself is a crime. This practice must end. It is contrary to the rule of law and harmful to the society.

When this government was in the opposition, it had pledged to end extrajudicial killings carried out in "crossfire" and "gunfights". But once in power, they did not carry out their pledge. On the contrary, "gunfights" have increased manifold. The government should realise that this trend of extrajudicial killings must not continue.