A rickshaw-puller's plight

The horrifying news of a rickshaw puller shot by cops during an alleged extortion drive has, once again, brought to the fore the unethical and illegal practices of our law enforcement agencies. On Sunday evening, Shomrat Shahjahan Shaju and three others from his slum were targeted by four policemen allegedly for extortion purposes. When they reached for Shaju's mobile phone and money, the latter resisted, resulting in him being verbally and physically assaulted, and finally shot at by the police, in a locked room, as reported by the media. Even though Shaju managed to free his left foot in time as one of the cops shot at him, he still suffered severe injuries, losing his big toe. 

To begin with, that the police would go after rickshaw pullers and slum dwellers to extort their hard-earned money is reprehensible. But to resort to such extreme violence to get their hands on a poor man's mobile phone and Tk 100 demonstrates a level of cruelty that in no way can be acceptable in a force entrusted with the protection of the people. 

We are frustrated to note that such acts against innocent citizens show no signs of abatement. Our repeated appeals to the administration to take stern action against the perpetrators and undertake long structural reforms of the whole institution seem to be falling on deaf ears, with no noticeable action by the institution to change the status quo. 

Meanwhile, what is to happen to the impoverished family whose only breadwinner is now incapacitated? It is high time we institute an independent mechanism through which victims of police brutality can not only seek justice, but also compensation for the losses to their lives and livelihoods.