Unsolved abduction mysteries

The role of the police has come under scrutiny because of the way in which they have handled some recent abduction cases. Hardly any case of kidnapping was settled without the victims' family paying the ransom moneya clear indication of police failing to make a dent in the crime. Police also got involved in many a case very late and acted mainly as mediators between the kidnappers and the victims' families, which again raises a very legitimate questionwhat the police were doing to rescue the victims immediately after the crimes were committed? The kidnappers were exploiting the psychological vulnerability of the families of the victims and police could apparently help only to strike a deal between the two parties. So the abductors were rewarded with success and that certainly emboldened them to go for more misadventures. The role of the police appeared to have been a secondary one, essentially reactive to the incidents or the circumstances generated by them.

The police seem to be aware of what has been going on. Police officials have admitted that they knew the possible locations of the kidnappers' hideouts, but have not been able to do anything against them. Nor could they explain the high incidence of this specific type of crime in a particular region. It is not enough to say that the wooded terrain in most parts Chittagong makes it difficult for the police to trace and arrest the kidnappers. There may also be truth in the observation that the list of criminals that the police have is old and needs revision. But, again, only the police themselves can update the list.

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The police should ask themselves why the businessmen of Chittagong have called upon the government to deploy the army in order to curb the crime. The appeal was definitely made out of sheer frustration and desperation, and it has also made it plain that they have no faith in the efficiency and honesty of the police. So it is now an acid test for the Chittagong police to prove their worth.