No room for extrajudicial killings under BNP govt: Zahed

The BNP will not support extrajudicial killings after forming the government, Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman said on Tuesday, stressing that the state must arrest accused criminals and hand them over to the judiciary for trial.

He also said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would take the final decision on Inspector General of Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir over his remarks on crossfire operations after returning from Japan.

“If a state or government kills someone extrajudicially, it ceases to function as a state and behaves like a thug,” Zahed said at a press briefing at the Secretariat on the progress of various government activities.

He said the BNP had fought against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings over the past 17 years and would not abandon that position after assuming office.

No democratic government can support extrajudicial killings, he said, adding that the state must arrest criminals and bring them before the judicial system.

“Anyone can commit murder. A state becomes a state when it exercises the authority to deliver justice,” he added.

Zahed said a death sentence could be imposed through judicial proceedings, but extrajudicial killing could never be an act of the state. The government could arrest an accused person and hand them over to the judiciary, while laws could be amended if necessary, but there could be no scope for extrajudicial killings, he said.

He said the government had no intention of remaining in power beyond its five-year term through night-time voting or dummy elections. It would therefore avoid actions that could damage its credibility, as extrajudicial killings would undermine public confidence in the government.

Asked about IGP Md Ali Hossain Fakir’s remarks that crossfire operations could be carried out if the government gave permission, Zahed said he believed the police chief had retreated from his earlier position in subsequent remarks.

“He also stepped back from serious allegations he made about journalists in general,” Zahed said, adding that he thought the issue should now be put to rest.

Asked whether the IGP should remain in office despite clarifying his remarks, the adviser said the matter was for journalists to assess. He added that the situation would have been problematic had the police chief continued to stand by his earlier statement.

Zahed also stressed that government officials were not obliged to carry out illegal orders and that public servants must perform their duties in accordance with the law.

Woman arrested over Facebook remarks

Responding to a question about the arrest of a woman entrepreneur in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, for expressing regret over voting for the BNP during a Facebook Live session, Zahed said he did not consider the position taken by local BNP activists who protested against her remarks to be justified.

Police took the woman into custody following the protests and later sent her to court under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Zahed said people had the right to express such views, noting that many people in Bangladesh, including some who make offensive remarks about the Prime Minister, expressed their opinions without facing similar action.

He said the matter was now within the jurisdiction of the judiciary and expressed hope that investigators would not treat the woman’s remarks as a criminal offence.

Action promised over attacks on Hindu families

Asked about reported vandalism and looting at the homes of three Hindu families in Pirganj, Rangpur, Zahed said he had heard that police were deployed and action had been taken.

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He said some extremist groups in Bangladesh had a tendency to act aggressively, adding that such tendencies had increased during the interim government’s tenure and appropriate action had not been taken in many cases.

Zahed assured that the current government would take action against such crimes.

“You cannot expect to remain beyond the reach of justice under this government. I assure you of that,” he said.

Members of the Hindu community also wanted to live safely in a liberal democratic country, he said, adding that people had expectations of the political parties entrusted with governing the country and that the BNP would have to fulfil them.