Why can’t the govt stop mob violence?

We are deeply concerned by the growing culture of mob violence that has almost become a norm in recent times. The latest incident occurred on June 22, when former Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda was assaulted by a mob prior to his arrest in a case filed by the BNP, accusing him and 23 others of electoral irregularities. A video that went viral on social media showed Huda standing with a garland of shoes around his neck, surrounded by a group of individuals. At one point, a bearded man struck him twice in the face with a shoe while others chanted slogans. Moments later, a police officer took Huda by the hand and led him away.

This kind of public harassment and mob trial before any legal proceedings have taken place is totally unacceptable. It poses a serious threat to the rule of law and undermines the legal rights of the accused. The question is: why did the police not take adequate precautions before attempting the arrest? Were they unaware of the risk of such an incident occurring, especially in such a high-profile case?

Read more

Mob justice is not justice

Among those accused in the BNP case are three AL-time CECs—KM Nurul Huda, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, and Kazi Habibul Awal—and 10 election commissioners. Ahmad and Awal oversaw the national elections of 2014 and 2024 respectively, while Huda oversaw the 2018 election amid widespread allegations of ballot-box stuffing on the eve of polling. Nurul Huda, along with others involved in these controversial elections that enabled a fascist regime, must face legal proceedings. However, any mob assault prior to legal action, or at any stage of the trial, serves only to raise question marks about their chances of getting justice.

Over the past 10 months, there has been a disturbing surge in incidents of mob justice where violent groups have taken the law into their own hands. Sometimes top leaders of Awami League, accused in various cases including those related to the July brutalities, faced assaults even on court premises. Alarmingly, in most instances, the government has remained silent, and the law enforcement authorities have failed to take action against the perpetrators.

Read more

Why can’t mob violence be contained?

This time, while the government has issued a statement assuring that law enforcement agencies will identify those responsible for the incident, as of writing this editorial, no action has been taken yet. We urge the government to identify the perpetrators through available video footage and bring them to book. By arresting them, it can send a strong message to the public that mob justice is unacceptable and will not be tolerated any more.