Consider gravity of crimes before granting bail

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged judges to consider the seriousness of the crimes before granting bail to a person accused of militancy.

This should be done so that the criminals cannot resume their misdeeds getting out on bail, she told parliament.

The government has nothing to do if judges “grant bails to criminals”, she said.

She also urged lawyers not to work for the bails of “criminals who are caught by police after making immense efforts and spending hundreds of crores of taka”.

Hasina called upon the lawmakers, the people, and the media to identify those involved in militancy, terrorist activities and cyber crimes and help the government capture them.

She said people arrested at different times in connection with militant activities have their “roots in BNP-Jamaat and their allies”.

“ … if we look into their identities, we'll see that they are all BNP and Jamaat men and their allies who opposed our independence and Liberation War.”

Accusing them of carrying out militant activities in the country, the PM said, “Records of the arrestees' student or young life politics clearly show that they are BNP-Jamaat men.”

The premier pledged that her government would take all necessary measures to ensure safety of the people.

In a scripted reply to lawmakers' queries, Hasina described various steps taken by her government to fight subversive and criminal activities.

About the progress in the Italian citizen Cesare Tavella and Japanese national Kunio Hoshi murder cases, she told the House that the police and intelligence agencies were conducting operations to arrest the killers and the masterminds.

VIBER, WHATSAPP

Independent MP Haji Selim enquired the premier of her government's plan to stop the misuse of WhatsApp and Viber.

Hasina said her government has a plan to block such internet-based voice and messaging services for some time to find and arrest criminals.

Some people got involved in criminal activities taking advantage of the social media technology, she noted.

“It has now become necessary to stop operation of such services to find out and arrest those who are involved in militant activities.”

The government in January had blocked some services, including WhatsApp, MyPeople, Line, Viber and Tango, following intelligence that criminals and militants interact with each other using these applications.