Fleeing police custody, nothing new for Bangladesh

How could Rafsan Hossain Rubel, accused of raping an indigenous girl aged, 18, flee while in police custody? The man the authorities let flee was not only an alleged rapist, but according to them, had confessed to his involved in extortion, robbery and abduction – seemingly a seasoned criminal. With his laundry list of crimes, the man is a clear menace to society and danger to public safety. His craftiness in escaping from police custody is only further proof of this.

The authorities should have kept this in mind. The danger this man poses should have made them more wary instead of careless. Yet, that was exactly what happened and their lack of vigilance allowed a hardcore criminal to escape the clutches of justice and return amidst the public giving him the scope to continue committing crimes. The law enforcement personnel in charge of bringing him to court and keeping an eye on him must immediately be investigated to find out what went wrong. And what had allowed him to escape.

This, of course, is not the first time that has happened. The story of escaping from police custody in court is not a rare one in our country. A suspended sub-inspector of Kafrul Police Station had escaped from police custody last year, moments after a Dhaka court denied him bail in a case filed for the custodial death of a businessman in 2012.

Then, there were the cases of four Chhatra League activists who had sneaked out of the courtroom after appearing before a Dhaka court to face trial of the murder of Jahangirnagar University student Zubair Ahmed and two physicians of Dhaka Medical College Hospital escaping from the dock of a courtroom soon after it rejected their bail in a corruption case. Given the history of convicts escaping from police custody particularly in court, the entire system should be re-evaluated to check for flaws that may allow such things to happen. Allowing suspected criminals to escape from custody like this does not enforce any form of confidence in our justice dispensation system or in the ability of law enforcers to carry out their duties.

It had taken law enforcers 17 days to apprehend the man alleged to have raped the young girl. After allowing him to escape, it can only be hoped that the authorities will not take long again to recapture him. Law enforcers, in order to redeem themselves, must put in the maximum effort to that end. The young girl who was made to suffer at the hands of this man must be granted justice. And the state and all its apparatuses must ensure that justice is served.