For police reform to be substantive, the first order of business should be the enactment of a new Police Act
The question is one of making the bureaucracy more responsible and responsive.
It is imperative to bring the police under a system of accountability that earns public confidence.
On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, announced his plan for the partition of the subcontinent—in particular that of Punjab and Bengal.
Of late, media reports that indicate that the infamous phenomenon of extrajudicial killings has been resorted to more by the mainstream police outfit than the elite unit of the law-enforcing apparatus should bring no comfort, and indeed should be viewed with concern.
The unfortunate fact of our times is that all reports on Bangladesh’s socio-economic progression almost invariably point to the lack of good governance as a significant deficit in our developmental strides.
The piece “No ‘crossfire’ deaths since US sanctions” published in this newspaper on January 11 will definitely engage all thinking minds, especially those entrusted with the maintenance of law and public order.
In recent times, there have been many discussions, discourses and deliberations on “muktijuddher chetona,” wherein passionate and eloquent speakers have emphasised the imperative of holding aloft the spirit of our great Liberation War.
The staggering number of nomination seekers, more than 4,000 for the 300 seats in the National Parliament, from the two major political parties that have ruled the country for the better part of our independent existence, gives rise to hope and concern.
This newspaper on July 9, 2011 editorially commented that when state agencies step out of their defined terms of reference, the resultant sociopolitical scenario becomes dismal.
The president of Bangladesh, while addressing the 51st convocation of Dhaka University, has implored to leave politics to politicians.
Memories of the recent past, of school children campaigning to bring sanity and discipline on our roads, particularly in the capital city, are still fresh in the public mind.
The recently published Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) survey report 2017 says that law enforcement agencies were the most corrupt among 18 departments and sectors involved in providing services to households.
As the nation prepares to solemnly remember the gory happenings of August 15, 1975 when the emancipator of Bangalis was brutally assassinated along with most of his family members, it is only proper that the post-liberation generations, particularly the younger segment amongst them, get to know the real dimension of the towering Bangabandhu.
Readers may recall the very mischievously poignant slogan of deviant students of yesteryears who were bent upon adopting unfair means to pass public examinations.
To this writer the expression “extra-judicial killing” is an apt illustration of the term “oxymoron”— that is, words put together which contradict each other. The expression has most likely been coined by journalists, and perhaps social scientists and rights activists, and curiously is not found in the legal lexicon. One could ask if there is actually anything like a judicial killing and if not, how could there be sense or meaning in the expression “extra-judicial killing”?
Multiple deaths occurr-ing during the ongoing anti-narcotics operations have given rise to sharp reactions. While some quarters feel that the government of the day has seized of the gravity of the drug menace, others take a very critical view by saying that the authorities have indulged in rambling actions without seriously venturing to grasp the root of the malaise and adequately punish the masterminds. Some critics would doubt the very credibility of the
The recent demonstra-tions by students demanding an end to the existing Bangladesh Civil Service quota system in the recruitment process deserve urgent attention of the government. The rationale for the introduction of the quota system had its roots in the policy for recruitment to public service that was adopted in September 1972.
