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.
Recent events relating to the serious wrongdoings of law enforcers may prompt the wary public to conclude that the misdeeds and gross dereliction of duties by our policemen have become a pathetic, recurrent reality and that nothing much can be done to change the situation.
It was quite surprising to read the report that some senior police officers had proposed the suspension of their regulatory powers of
January 8 marks the beginning of the Police Week 2018. Like previous years, there would be solemn exhortations to enforce the law impartially and protect human rights in public interest.
There could be no two opinions on the significance of responsible law enforcement in a democratic polity.
The expression “apartheid”, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means racial segregation, especially in South Africa. I am not sure if apartheid has, in real terms...
Remembering the mayhem of August 21, 2004, we have to agree that the horrendous crimes committed on that day have left an indelible impact on the course and character of constitutional politics in Bangladesh.
At the crux of the debate is the concept of separation of powers and specifically the independence of the judicial organ of the state. It also brings to the fore the aspect of immutability of some features of the Constitution.
This newspaper has very rightly commented that the government's decision to start a permanent prosecution service by employing professional lawyers is a welcome move. In every criminal prosecution, the State is the complainant on behalf of the aggrieved people and it is thus only proper that public interests do not go by default on account of extraneous factors.
Without delving into the mystery of the virtue we call courage, we may perhaps say that courage is ubiquitous and is widely talked about and universally held in high regard.
Very recently, a think tank in association with electronic media arranged an animated discussion under the title “Political process and participatory election”, in a roundtable format at a local hotel.
