Editorial
Body to probe BDR jawan deaths
A step in the right direction
THE decision by the government to form a three-member committee to probe the recent instances of suicides and deaths of some BDR jawans is a welcome one. It is so because of the apprehension that has grown in the public mind about the deaths, especially at a time when investigations have been underway regarding the carnage carried out by mutinous BDR jawans at Pilkhana on February 25 and 26. Although the deaths have been explained away as plain suicides and in some cases as a result of cardiac arrests, the fact that these deaths have been reported when the BDR is especially in the spotlight has naturally led to a number of questions being raised. That the government remains sensitive to the issue and is indeed responsive to public concerns is therefore to be appreciated.
The three-member body, as we learn, has been directed by the authorities to submit its report within the next fifteen days. We expect that the committee will go quickly and effectually into its task through collecting the details relating to the deaths of the jawans and coming up with a report based on an objective analysis of the happenings in order to answer public concerns on the issue. With a very large number of BDR men now in detention in connection with the tragic happenings of February, it is important that nothing be done, even unwittingly, which can be perceived to be detracting from the main thrust of the investigations.
The goal, for the entire nation, is for a calm, considered examination of the circumstances and the manner in which the military officers attached to the BDR were so ruthlessly murdered in February. That goal must then lead to another, which is a proper dispensation of justice through identifying and punishing the guilty. A full and comprehensive inquiry can only strengthen that process.
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