Where is the justice?
GANOTANTRI Party leader and labour rights activist, Nurul Islam, and his son Tamohar Islam passed away in a mysterious fire days before the election in December 2008. Political leaders, cultural activists and labour unions have long suspected the incident to be an act of sabotage and rallied to demand a thorough investigation and call for justice. Eight months on, the investigation has yielded no results, and we are left with more questions than answers.
In its initial report, the Fire Service department, being a part of the investigative team, suggested that an electrical short circuit resulted in a fire, which caused the compressor of the refrigerator to explode.
Within days, the Dhaka Power Development Company produced a report indicating that the circuit breakers were intact and negating the possibility of a short circuit. In addition, an ATN report by Munni Shaha clearly showed that the compressor of the refrigerator was in one piece.
Family testimony confirmed that the refrigerator in question was not in use and was not even plugged in. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, upon reinvestigating the case, the CID adamantly reiterated that the fire was an accident caused by an electrical short circuit.
The investigations found no satisfactory evidence of a short circuit in the electrical connections in the building, but the government committees, for whatever reason, are blissfully ignoring all these evidence and sticking to the story of fire and an electrical short circuit.
What is the reason behind these inconsistent and contradictory reports? Is it incompetence or negligence?
This is by no means new in Bangladesh. Political killings in Bangladesh have a long and tragic track record since liberation. Various report suggest that some 1,300 lives have been lost to political violence in Bangladesh over the last ten years.
There were numerous instances of attacks (including grenade attacks) against political leaders during 2001 through 2006, attacks against cultural activists at the Romna Botomul bomb blast in 2001, and there have been many attacks and threats against intellectuals and journalists.
As time goes on, the list of unresolved deaths grows longer and the hope for justice fades. And yet we remain strangely complacent and move from tragedy to tragedy with remarkable ease.
Change begins with ourselves. It is our responsibility to stand up and speak out against political violence. It is our democratic right to demand justice and ensure that the investigative authorities either pursue their duty to the fullest extent or are held accountable. We can no longer afford to be silent.
It is time to unite our voice to say No, to ask for justice, to unveil truth. We must form a resistance against such crimes, violence and brutality. And we must never forget that we are the ultimate inheritors of all the misfortunes, as well as fortunes, of our country.
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