Unravelling the mystery
Who and why?Photo: AFP
THE recent carnage at Pilkhana has raised many questions pertaining to the real motive of its perpetrators and about who could instigate an otherwise disciplined paramilitary force. Investigations are underway to unravel the mystery. A few statements that have been published in print media are, at least, insinuative. The author would rather restrict himself to discussing the fall-out of this ghastly incident in national life. Even a month after the incident, people in the villages talk about it in tea stalls, and some of them even suggest solutions so that such a situation may never occur again. Many people whom I talked with opined that the incident could have been averted had the intelligence services monitored the activities of those who had access to arms and were exposed to public life, and disseminated the findings to the concerned people. Some among them seemed worried about what the fugitives with arms might do when they disperse into rural areas where law and order cannot be kept under strict vigil, probably because of shortage of manpower. A few of them suggested that the government should move fast to form community police (gram police) with the capability of communicating with the police if mysterious movements are seen. Few people wanted to know whether teachers and college students could be tasked to maintain vigilance over the people belonging to security services when they come on leave, or whether any message could be passed to local police that they are enjoying leave in their homes from x date to y date. Those that lost their dear ones wanted the perpetrators of the heinous crime to be given exemplary punishment so that it deters the misguided youth from resorting to such a ghastly crime to make a "statement." Loaded with differing views on how to tackle the post-carnage situation, one may wonder where to start. Should it be a multi-prong approach to converge at a conclusion, or one line of approach at a time? Some people maintain that different task forces should be formed so that suggestions to address the post-carnage situation are available and at the same time the mystery behind the carnage is uncovered. They think that this will stop the fall-out of restlessness from fanning out far and wide. Those that support one line at a time opine that the post carnage situation should be immediately addressed so that the anger in the victims' families calms down while investigation to unravel the mystery should go gradually. They hope that this will help identify the root of the conspiracy, which is shrouded behind a thick cloud. A quick dispensation might overlook details that could be the crux of the problem. A battlefield mutiny can be dealt with summarily, but a peacetime mutiny warrants detailed investigation to unfold the underlying mystery, and to firmly and judiciously act so that history holds it and the nation hails it. The following questions are humbly placed before the investigators: * Who could or would have benefited from what has happened? * What motivation could have acted as the prime mover for the perpetrators? * Could there be any "cash in" possibility for the political parties? * Could it have opened a floodgate of street violence leading to outbreak of turmoil, and who could have reaped a rich harvest from the general confusion? * What type of the weapons and equipment were used by the perpetrators? * What has been the career pattern of the accused sepoys? * Did they go on leave often, or enjoyed a spendthrift life? * Was there a regular pattern of posting and transfer, or there were departures for a few? * What has been recruitment pattern of the rank and file, keeping in view: -- Geographical area from where larger number of sepoys joined BDR. -- Was there any recommendation from any quarter for recruiting a large number of sepoys over the last several years (say 5 years)? -- Who were responsible for recruitment during last several years? -- What was the educational background of the sepoys recruited during the last five year? When the answers to these questions become available, it will be a lot easier for the investigators to collate and interpret the actions, which will pave the way to solving the mystery. I recommend that a steady pace be followed, without fear or favour, to go to the end of the tunnel to see the light, or else the nation may find itself stranded between the devil and the deep sea. Z.A. Khan is a former DG of BIISS.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments