Tackling opposition movement: Police looking to revive old cases

As the BNP and 35 other like-minded parties are set to launch a one-point movement to oust the government, the Police Headquarters is collecting data on all the cases against opposition activists and leaders.

The headquarters is gathering information about those who faced charges of arson, killing of police members, crimes against humanity, and other serious crimes in 2013 and later.

The initiative is aimed at speeding up the pending cases against opposition leaders and activists.

BNP's one-point movement will also be met by ruling Awami League's programmes on the streets, apparently to counteract the effects of BNP's demonstrations.

The AL also decided to hold rallies for students and youths in eight divisional cities in what seems to be an obvious response to BNP's youth rallies.

Beyond these programmes, the ruling party is not much bothered about the opposition's demonstrations, insiders say. The leadership is focused on reorganising the party and preparing for the national polls slated for January.

Besides, the AL leaders have no doubt that the law enforcers will play their role if the opposition wants to create instability.

On July 12, the BNP will formally announce its one-point movement for resignation of the government and election under a caretaker administration.

Meanwhile, the Jamaat has also been trying to motivate its rank and file. On June 10, it held a rally after a decade in the capital and demanded restoration of the polls-time caretaker government. The party, which does not have a registration with the Election Commission, held several subsequent programmes including a rally in Dhaka last Friday in protest of the defamation of the holy Quran in Sweden.

Jamaat sources say they will demonstrate in the coming days for release of their party chief Shafiqur Rahman and other leaders from prisons and demand a caretaker government before the election.

At large gatherings that the party hopes to organise in all divisional cities, the activists also want to protest the rising prices of essentials. Their plan is to hold the first divisional event in Sylhet, and in the second phase, hold programmes in district towns.

While the BNP and these other parties are gearing up for demonstrations, the AL leaders believe that the police headquarters' initiative of reviving the cases against opposition activists across the country will tame the protests.

On July 5, the Police Headquarters sent letters asking superintendents of police in districts for "status updates" on the cases filed since 2013, when the BNP-Jamaat alliance launched an anti-government movement that intensified ahead of the 2014 national election.

The headquarters, in another letter sent in the last week of June, asked police units to form committees to watch the progress of the legal procedure of these cases.

The units were ordered to complete the investigations of all pending cases and take initiatives so that the trial proceedings can conclude.

The units have been asked to find witnesses in the cases in which no witness testimonies were taken before. They were asked to coordinate with prosecutors so that the depositions are made.

The headquarters told the units to take initiative to restart the trial process for cases that were stayed by the court, and to file appeals in cases in which the accused got acquitted.

Contacted, Joydeb Kumar Bhadra, deputy inspector general (crime management) at the Police Headquarters, said the letters were sent to monitor major cases of robberies, police killings and sabotage.

Asked if the letters were prompted by the BNP programmes, he said monitoring of important cases is routine work, and politics had nothing to do with it.

AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told The Daily Star that BNP's movement was not something to worry about, for the party "has been making such announcements since 2013".

Hanif claimed that BNP has decided to join the election and its one-point movement is just an attempt to motivate the leaders and activists.

The BNP has all along said that it will not participate in the election held under the incumbent administration.