Mob violence: Govt cannot evade responsibility by statements alone

The issue of ‘mob violence’ came to the fore again with former chief election commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda being abused and humiliated with a garland of shoes.

Earlier, on Sunday, a group of people barged into Nurul Huda’s residence in the capital’s Uttara and dragged him out. The former CEC was physically abused and humiliated with a garland of shoes before being handed over to the law enforcement.

A video of the incident went viral on social media. It shows a group of people forming a mob entering the residence of KM Nurul Huda. They threw eggs at him and assaulted him physically in presence of police force at the scene.

Such incidents of breaching the law through mob violence have increased exponentially since the fall of the Awami League government following a mass uprising in July and August last year. The interim government has issued statements over the incidents.

The same happened in the case of Nurul Huda too. The government in the statement over the incident said, “It is illegal, a violation of the rule of law, and a criminal offence to attack or physically abuse an accused. Those who incited mob violence and created disorder will be identified and brought to justice.”

Speaking regarding this Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) non-paid executive director and senior lawyer advocate Sara Hossain told Prothom Alo, “The government cannot evade responsibility only by issuing statements.

In the dictionary, mob violence refers to violence perpetrated by a crowd or group of people, often in a public setting.

The question is, can anybody detain and physically and mentally abuse anybody at whim before handing over that person to the law enforcement agencies? Or does anybody have the right to beat up or threaten anyone? The answer is - no.

The main purpose of the judiciary is to maintain peace and stability within the country through ensuring justice. Bangladesh has a constitution and judicial system. According to the Article 35 (5) of Bangladesh constitution, “No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.”

In the existing judicial system of the country, a person can resort to the laws of the country if he or she is subjected to abusive behaviour. But the person cannot take the law into his own hands. Only the court set up by the law has the jurisdiction to conduct any trial.

The code of criminal procedure (CrPC) has clarified as to who can arrest an accused and who cannot.

The Section 59 of the CrPC outlines the powers and procedures for private individuals to make arrests if the offence is cognisable. According to that, “Any private person may arrest any person who in his view commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence, or any proclaimed offender, and without unnecessary delay, shall make over any person so arrested to a police-officer, or, in the absence of a police-officer, take such person or cause him to be taken in custody to the nearest police-station.”

According to a High Court precedent [PLD 1953, Lahore 207 (DB)], ‘A private person can only arrest a person who has been declared an offender or a person who has been convicted of a non-bailable offence committed before him.

Lawyers say the accused has to be handed over to the police immediately after the detention. There is no scope to abuse or harass the accused.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court public prosecutor (PP) Omar Faruq Faruqi told Prothom Alo, “According to the constitution and Criminal Code of Conduct and other legal provisions, it is an offence to abuse a person physically and mentally or to humiliate any person with garland made with shoes.”

PP Omar Faruq Faruqi further said, “People are still enraged with the deeds of the government under fascist Sheikh Hasina, including holding controversial elections, politically motivated fictitious cases, enforced disappearances and killing people indiscriminately during the July Uprising. That’s why people behave abnormally whenever they see people who helped the fascist regime.”

“The interim government and the police have been urging people repeatedly to refrain from taking law into their own hands. Only the court has the jurisdiction of trial,” he added.

The interim government was sworn in on 8 August following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August. The failure to prevent mob violence even after 10 months of assuming power has tarnished the government’s image globally.

According to the human rights organisation, Human Rights Support Society (HRSS), at least 114 incidents of mob beatings occurred in the country during the first seven months of the interim government’s tenure. As many as 119 people died and 74 others injured in those incidents.

The government, however, has repeatedly stated its intention to curb mob violence. On 11 September last year, in a speech to the nation, the interim government’s chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus said, “Please, do not take the law into your own hands. If anyone does so and creates disorder in society, we will certainly bring them to book.”

The government also has a clear stance that none could be arrested immediately after the filing of a case. On 3 September 2023, the home ministry issued a statement affirming everyone that the government wants to reassure the people that filing a case does not mean arrests will be made indiscriminately. Proper scrutiny and appropriate action would be taken in such cases.

However, it appears that in some instances, groups of individuals are apprehending suspects and harassing them before handing them over to the police. In many cases, the police are showing the accused as arrested in connection with the cases without any prior investigation. In a few cases, those individuals were later released due to public criticism and pressure.

In several recent incidents involving the creation of mobs, the police were not seen taking a firm stance. In a few cases, however, certain officers were seen to act decisively.

For example, in May, a mob was formed outside a businessman’s residence in Dhanmondi under the leadership of a local leader of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (who was later removed from his position). They put pressure on the police to arrest the businessman.

However, even under pressure, Dhanmondi police station officer-in-charge (OC) Kashainyu Marma did not arrest the businessman. Rather, he took those involved in forming the mob to the police station. Later, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Sheikh Md. Sajjat Ali awarded him for this act.

Police officers were seen present during an incident in which former chief election commissioner Nurul Huda was harassed and assaulted, both verbally and physically. This has raised questions about the police’s inaction in protecting the accused from the mob.

Responding to newspersons in Gazipur on Monday morning, home adviser Lt. Gen. (retd.) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said, “The attack on him (Nurul Huda) took place right in front of the law enforcement members. A probe committee will be formed to investigate the incident. We will identify those involved. Legal action will be taken if any law enforcement personnel are found to be complicit with this.”

He further said, “Mob justice is not warranted in any form. What happened to him (former CEC Nurul Huda), being garlanded in such a humiliating manner, is absolutely unacceptable.”

Identifying the people involved in mob violence is not difficult. They were seen on video. Yet, the police could not arrest anyone by Monday afternoon.

Speaking about this to Prothom Alo, lawyer Sara Hossain said that the incident of garlanding former CEC Nurul Huda with shoes is utterly unacceptable in any civilised society.

“Such things used to take place in the medieval period,” she said.

Sara Hossain questioned how this was allowed to happen in front of the police members, and what role the police played during the incident. “Has any visible action been taken against those involved?”

This senior lawyer pointed out that such humiliations used to take place under the guise of informal arbitration in the past. But the High Court has given strong directives against such acts, stating that they are unconstitutional. Despite this, such incidents are on the rise again.

According to her, the interim government cannot complete its responsibilities simply by issuing statements.

The mob violence has been rising as there has been no exemplary punishment of those who have been harassing people in this way, Sara Hossain maintained.

She believes that if the interim government had taken strict measures earlier, the number of such incidents would not have been so high.