The High Court has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incidents of violence against houses and puja mandaps of the Hindu community in six districts of the country, including Cumilla. The High Court bench comprising justice Mojibur Rahman Mia and Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah passed the order after a primary hearing of a writ petition.
The chief judicial magistrates of the concerned districts have been asked to investigate the matter and submit a report to the court within the next two months. The other five districts are Chandpur, Noakhali, Chattogram, Rangpur and Feni.
Supreme Court lawyers Anup Kumar Saha and Mintu Chandra Das filed a writ petition in the High Court on 21 October. At the hearing, attorney general AM Amin Uddin objected to some of the words in the writ, one of which was "deliberate negligence." The court replied that it would consider whether the remark would remain in the petition.
The attorney general also gave details of the steps taken by the government to deal with the miscreants. He said those who attacked minorities after the 2001 elections had once again carried out the attacks. But the two contexts are different. BNP was in power in 2001, now Awami League is in power.
Naturally, the question arises, if there was an attack at that time at the instigation of the BNP, who is instigating it now? The court questioned whether the miscreants, who attacked the Hindu community at different times, had been brought to trial. The attorney general's answer was, the government has taken appropriate action and arrested the miscreants this time.
No matter what the local administration and law enforcement officials say, they have to admit that they have failed to protect the homes and places of worship of the affected minorities. As a result, the inquiry committees formed by the local administration to investigate the incident are not above question.
According to various media including Prothom Alo, their negligence and inactivity in fulfilling their responsibilities is very clear. In many cases the administration went to the scene after the violence. The incident was spread through Facebook live in front of the officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station in Cumilla. How did he allow that?
A temple in Noakhali had been under attack for several hours, but law enforcement did not arrive on time, the victims alleged. Members of the law enforcement force were on guard 500 yards away from the village where the attack took place in Rangpur's Pirganj. Due to the failure of the local administration, the government has transferred and withdrawn several police officers, including the police superintendents of the two districts.
The minorities could not rely on the administration that has failed to provide them protection. That is why they appealed for a judicial inquiry into the administration's failure and the High Court has ruled in their favour. Now the government should take effective steps to ensure that the judicial inquiry is completed in time and in compliance with the order of the High Court. The bottom line is that a proper investigation is not enough. Also the people have a right to know the contents of the inquiry report.