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Download PDF The High Court (HC) yesterday issued a rule nisi on the government, police and Rab to explain why they should not be directed to ensure protection of the people arrested or detained in custody as per the law.
An HC division bench passed the order following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) challenging the failure of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) to protect the lives of the arrestees or detainees in its custody.
The respondents, who have been asked to reply within three weeks, are home secretary, inspector general of police, and director general of Rab, directors of Rab-1, Rab-2, Rab-3, Rab-4 and Rab-10.
HRPB Chairman Syed Arif Niazi, advocates Asaduzzaman Siddique, Aklas Uddin Bhuiyan and Mujibur Rahman filed the petition on behalf of the human rights organisation.
The petition said that “surprisingly from the very first day, the activities of Rab were neither within the limits of the constitution nor within the bounds of any law of the land.”
The petitioners also said, “Their (Rab) action in respect of killing the arrested persons in the name of crossfire has denied the right of every citizen to enjoy the protection of law, to be treated equally before the law and deprived them of their inalienable rights to be treated in accordance with law and only in accordance with law.”
They submitted a list of the people killed in the name of crossfire in 2005. The list was drawn up from the newspaper reports.
They said many people were killed in 2005 and at the beginning of this year in the name of crossfire in different districts.
Manzill Murshid, counsel for the petitioners, said so far 500 people have fallen victim to extrajudicial killing in Rab custody.
He argued that death in custody of the Rab violates the fundamental right of a citizen that they would not be subjected to any ‘torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment’ as guaranteed in the constitution.
He said in every case they [Rab] have failed to protect the life of the arrested person.
Citing newspaper reports, Manzill said many people who have been killed in the name of crossfire stood accused in a number of cases and many of them were terrorists, killers and convicted of heinous offences.
“Still, the law gave them a right to get protection of law and fair trial. Even whatever [be] the offence committed by any citizen of the country no one can be punished except provided in the law,” he submitted.
He also contended that it is a fundamental right of a citizen to get protection of law but the victims of so-called crossfire were deprived of their rights due to inaction of the respondents.
Manzill was assisted by barrister Moksudul Islam, barrister Moyeen Alam Ferozi and advocate Asaduzzaman Siddique.
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