Militancy cases not moving in full pace
UNB
Over the past five years Bangladesh witnessed a flurry of attacks made by militant groups that the countrys law enforcers largely succeeded to thwart, reports UNB. When it comes to justice delivery in terms of investigation, prosecution and trial of such militancy-related cases, the pace appears not speedy enough.
Sources at the police headquarters said so far 86 cases were filed in different police stations across the country in connection with targeted attacks and killings by so-called Islamist militant groups till May this year since February, 2013.
Militant groups claimed responsibility for most of those attacks and the law enforcers arrested many radical Islamists in connection with the attacks.
Additional DIG (Intelligence and Special Affairs) of Police Headquarters Moniruzzaman told UNB that out of the 86 cases, police submitted charge sheets in 39 cases. Of those 39 cases, verdicts have been given in five cases while 34 cases are under trial in different courts across the country.
Investigations have not been completed in 43 cases. Police submitted final report true (FRT) in four cases, where it was found that the offences were committed, but sufficient evidences were not available to prosecute the accused persons.
As many as 431 suspected militants have been arrested in connection with the militant attack cases during the period (2013-2018). Of them, 152 alleged militants gave their confessional statements before magistrates in connection with involvement in killing and attack cases, said the additional DIG.
Replying to a question, Moniruzzaman said most of the targeted militant attacks were carried out by the banned Islamic outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). JMB involvements were there in as many as 71 cases of militant attacks and killings out of the total 86, while Ansar Ullah Bangla Team (ABT) men had hands in 10 cases and five other attacks were carried out by other militant groups.
Attacks, carried out by Islamist militant groups came to the fore after machete-wielding attackers hacked Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger and activist known by his pen name, Thaba Baba, to death by in February 2013 near his home in the citys Pallabi area. Four more secular bloggers and a publisher were also killed allegedly by Islamist militants in the same year.
A Dhaka Court on December 31 in 2015, sentenced two students identified as Faisal bin Nayem alias Dweep and Rezwanul Azad Rana to death for murdering the blogger Rajib Haider. Besides, Jasimuddin Rahmani, chief of banned Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), which claimed responsibility for Haiders killing, was also sentenced to five years in prison.
Murder of progressive writer Avijit Roy near the Ekushey Book Fair venue in Dhaka on February 26, 2015 triggered a nationwide outrage against rise of militancy in the country.
Avijits publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan was also hacked to death on October 31 the same year.
And as recently as on June 11 another free-thinking writer, leftist politician and publisher Shahzahan Bachchu was gunned down allegedly by suspected militants in Munshiganj.
