The manner in which Cumilla city councillor Mohammad Sohel and one of his associates were killed by masked miscreants paints a grim picture of our politics. Last Monday, while the councillor was talking to his colleagues in his office, the gunmen stormed in and started firing indiscriminately and fled the scene.
When the injured were taken to the hospital, the physician declared the councillor and his colleague Haripada Saha dead. A case has been filed against eight persons in the incident and one person named Shovon has been arrested. Police recovered firearms, grenades, bags and shirts from the area of Shah Alam, the main accused in the case.
According to a report in this daily, three people were killed in the last three years in the internal conflict of Awami League. Juba League leader Zillur Rahman Chowdhury, who was contesting for the post of councillor in the 2017 elections, was assassinated in November last year.
Another BCL leader was killed in November 2018. He was also a candidate in the 2017 election. It is not impossible for the city corporation election to be linked with the murder of councillor Sohel. The term of the City Corporation is almost over. Election is scheduled for the first half of 2022. Not only in Cumilla, but in different parts of the country, many people have lost their lives in the internal conflicts of the ruling party.
Councillor Mohammad Sohel was elected twice in 2013 and 2017. After being elected councillor for the second time, he took action against drug trafficking and extortion in the area. There are discussions at the local level that some people did not conceive it well. The family alleges that the slain councillor had a dispute with Amir Hossain, general secretary of Awami League, ward 16, Shah Alam, Sabbir and certain ‘Jail Sohel’ of the adjoining ward. Newspapers have reported that the accused in the case are involved in drug business in the area.
Earlier, there were several cases against the accused in the murder of Councillor Sohel, including drug trafficking. One of them became known as ‘Jail Sohel’ because of his imprisonment. But no one was punished rather the miscreants are operating without fear. In the shadow of politics and power, criminals remain out of reach.
Although a case has been registered in the previous two murders in Cumilla, the police investigation has not been completed due to unknown reasons. After three years, the police say the charge sheet will be filed soon. If the charge sheet is not submitted, how will the judicial work start? Why they could not finish the investigation? Was there political pressure on them in this regard? Who put that pressure, needs to be found out. The perpetrators get encouraged because the crimes have not been tried.
We hope that all the accused in the murder of Cumilla councillor Mohammad Sohel will be brought under the law immediately. No negligence or delay can be made in the investigation. We do not want any mother to lose her child in the name of local politics or domination.