On Thursday afternoon a 75-year-old gentleman telephoned to say when his cousin, a BNP man, couldn't be located, certain persons identifying themselves as DB police picked up the man's brother, nephews and brother-in-law. They were told that they would be released if the BNP man was handed over to them.
The gentleman who had telephoned me said that he was not in contact with his cousin. He was valiant freedom fighter and a retired college teacher. He was suffering from cancer. He had just returned from hospital from a chemotherapy session. One of his nephews was an SSC candidate and the other was a university student. As he had delayed in opening the door, the police had beaten up the house-help too. The entire family was engulfed in anxiety.
Another friend phoned Prothom Alo to say that a local teacher lived with her son and daughter in the Sonali Bank lane of East Rampura. Her daughter Labiba Jahan Oishi was a student of IER at Dhaka University. Her son had passed out of university but hadn't got a job as yet, he was unemployed.
When the police banged on their door Thursday afternoon, they were alarmed. The police broke down the door, entered and asked if her son has been in the movement, checked his body for any injuries or bullet wounds. Even though they could find nothing, the police took him away. They took away their mobile phones too though these had nothing to do with the movement.
Oishi's friends said she had nothing to do with the quota reform movement even through it spread from the university. She hadn't even made any significant statement in this regard on Facebook. The mother and daughter had moved into a relative's house, scared and mentally distraught.
There are thousands of families other than that of the 75-year-old freedom fighter or the school teacher, who are living in alarm and anxiety. They are worried about their own safety. It is not even possible for everyone to rush around between police station and court.
During the students' movement, clashes and violence had broken out in full swing in Badda, Rampura, Jatrabari, Uttara, Mirpur and Mohammedpur. There were violent clashes between the demonstrators and members of the police force. Most of those who had died or were injured had been hit by bullets.
A BBC Bangla video report regarding the police's arrest drive in Dhaka showed several prison vans arriving at the court area from all around the city at around 3:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday. Those inside were crying out, "We are innocent. We were not in the movement. We have been detained for nothing." They included students, workers, children and teenagers.
Men and women thronged around the police vans. Some were trying to get a glimpse of their relations in the vans. One of them said that his brother was a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver and had nothing to do with the movement. He had been standing on the roadside watching the chaos. He had been picked up on suspicion. Pictures had been taken by drone from above. They picked up anyone seen in the drone pictures.
Failing to protect state property they are now making arrests en masse. Nab those who committed sabotage. What could the objective be behind arresting children, adolescents, people who have suffered from strokes, innocent pedestrians and hard-working labourers?
Another woman said that the police had picked up her son-in-law from Matuail. He had been having a cup of tea with others at a roadside tea-stall. Everyone started running away upon seeing the police vehicle and he was caught. Another person said that his brother was caught because he was a BNP man, though he was not involved in any movement. He had been sleeping when he was picked up at night. A mother said, her 13-year-old boy was picked up. He would work in a garage.
More people are being arrested from areas in Dhaka where there had been more agitation and damage. There was no assessing who had been involved and who hadn't.
No one would have anything to say if those responsible for damaging state property were identified and brought before the law. But why should anyone be arrested or harassed simply because they were related to a leader of the opposition or because they were young in age?
According to Prothom Alo reports, the law enforcement is carrying out arrests and filing cases centering the agitation, attacks, damages, clashes and arson during the quota reform movement. According to reports received till Thursday, 525 cases have been filed in 51 cities and districts including Dhaka. Over the past 9 days (from 17 July to 25 July) the number of arrests have exceeded 5,500. From Wednesday night till Thursday afternoon around 1,100 persons were arrested around the country. In the capital city 451 were arrested.
It is the responsibility of the government to safeguard state property. There was no dearth of police, RAB, BGB personnel deployed in Dhaka city. Failing to protect state property they are now making arrests en masse. Nab those who committed sabotage. What could the objective be behind arresting children, adolescents, people who have suffered from strokes, innocent pedestrians and hard-working labourers?
Law minister Anisul Huq has given his word that no cases will be filed against the students who were in the movement. They will not be harassed. But now they are being targetted and cases are being filed against them. According to Prothom Alo reports, students have been accused in five more cases centering various programmes of the quota reform movement. The police has filed a case against 20 students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in capital. There are 15 students of Rajshahi University named in another case.
In Rupnagar police station of the capital, two cases has been filed against unnamed students of Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) on charges of assaulting and injuring police and obstructing government duty. In the two cases, 1000 to 1500 unnamed persons have been charged, including students. Another case has been filed at the Ashulia police station in Dhaka against unnamed students of Jahangirnagar University.
The ministers say that the agitating students did not attack the various installations of the government, they did not carry out violence and destruction. They have been blaming BNP and Jamaat-Shibir for all the violence. If the students did not carry out the violence and destruction, why are cases being filed against them?
At the last moment of writing this column on Friday I learnt that the police have released the relatives of that BNP leader's brother. Let the others who have been arbitrarily arrested also be similarly released.
* Sohrab Hassan is joint editor of Prothom Alo and a poet
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir