Special drive: Where are the snatched militants?
The government conducted a special drive to nab the criminals from 1 to 15 December. According to the police headquarters, a total of 23,968 people, including 72 listed militants and terrorists, were arrested during the two-week drive. There will be an obvious question as to who are the other arrestees.
If the drive is aimed at arresting militants and terrorists, why have a whopping number of political opponents been arrested?
The police headquarters claimed that the special operation was conducted in view of the incident of snatching two militants from the court gate in Dhaka on 20 November and to make the celebrations of Victory Day, Christmas and New Year safe and smooth.
We hoped that the snatched militants would be caught in this operation. But the law and order forces could not locate the two missing militants or the militants who snatched them. Earlier in 2014, three JMB members were snatched through attacks on a prison van in Trishal, Mymensingh. It is unacceptable that the government which succeeded in anti-militant drives now fails continuously.
According to the police headquarters, there are warrants against some 15,968 of the arrestees in various cases. Also, some 5,132 cases have been filed during the drive.
The police seized 24 firearms, 200,000 pieces of yaba, 8.06 kg of heroin and 5,415 bottles of phensedyl. These recoveries are part of regular drives and do not require any special arrangements.
The BNP alleged that the police had conducted the drive to hamper their pre scheduled rally in Dhaka on 10 December. They arrested many leaders and activists of the party.
One of the main purposes of the special drive was to rescue the snatched militants, but it was not successful. It has been reported that the anti-terrorism unit of the police has continued operations to catch the militants. But former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque fears that the militants may have fled abroad and no drive will work if it happens really.
So the question has come up whether this operation is to arrest the leaders and activists of the opposition party, especially when there was a degree of unrest in the capital centering the 10 December rally. All hope that the Victory Day, Christmas, and New Year will be celebrated safely and smoothly.
None should have any objection if the police take necessary measures for the celebrations. But the drive is bound to deviate from the track if it is aimed at harassing and arresting the opposition party men through false cases in the name of catching the criminals. We have noticed the same trend during the previous governments and it is not conducive to crime prevention or rule of law.
Law enforcement agencies should conduct operations against crime with professionalism. There can be no political motive. It does not matter how many people are arrested in a special drive. The important issue here is how far it plays a role to keep the crimes under control.