Mir Afroz Zaman

In a word, mob justice is a social disease in Bangladesh and mob terrorism has become a problem. Starting from the law enforcement agencies, the army has not been left out. Last Sunday, former Chief Election Commissioner AKM Nurul Huda was a victim of mob terrorism in Uttara Model Town, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. 

In the same town area, media activist Mir Afroz Zaman was a victim of mob terrorism with the help of the police. On the other hand, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md. Sajjat Ali said that if the mob fails to stop, action will be taken against the concerned police members. But the sad thing is that the police could not stop even a 'mob', rather the police joined the mob creators. Two people of the traditional religion of Goshla Bazar area of Sadar Police Station in Lalmonirhat, northern district of Bangladesh, were severely harassed by "mob terrorists" locals, accusing them of insulting Islam. The family members of the arrested man have denied the allegations and said that the two were systematically harassed on false charges of insulting religion after an argument over being paid less for a haircut.

The two men are father and son and are barbers by profession, known as barbers in Bangladesh. They had been running a salon there for a long time.

The district's Sadar police station says that they arrested the two men after a group of people harassed Paresh Chandra Shil and his son Bishnu Chandra Shil on charges of insulting religion. Paresh Chandra Shil's daughter-in-law, Dipti Rani Shil, said that her father-in-law and husband are completely innocent. "They made false allegations. My father-in-law assured me that there was an argument between them over money,"

The imam of a local mosque has filed a case with the police station as the plaintiff in this incident. Md. Zobayer Hossain, the khatib of the mosque and a witness in the case, said, "Those two barbers spoke disrespectfully of the Prophet. There are eyewitnesses to this."

Although he was mentioned as a witness in the case statement, he said that neither he nor the plaintiff in the case were eyewitnesses to the incident. They confirmed the incident by hearing it from the complainant and others.

"The imam filed the case because he has an imam-musli relationship with the complainant,". Although the harassment and detention occurred on Sunday, according to the case, the incident of 'insulting religion' occurred three days ago, Friday.

Since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, 2024, there have been numerous incidents of mob terrorism across the country. In some cases, statements have been made against mob terrorism, but in practice, mob terrorists have attacked various individuals and institutions without hindrance. Various professionals have been forced to resign. There have been many incidents of looting and occupation. Many have also been killed in mob terrorist attacks.

After the former CEC was a victim of mob violence, a statement from the office of the chief advisor on Sunday night said, "On June 22, former Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda was arrested by the Uttara Police Station in the capital in a specific case. At that time, the chaotic situation created by the 'mob' and the physical assault of the accused came to the attention of the government." The statement further said, "The government is requesting all citizens of the country not to take the law into their own hands again. All accused persons will be tried according to the law of the country and the court will decide on the matter and the person under trial. Attacking and physically assaulting the accused person is illegal, contrary to the rule of law and a criminal offense. The law and order forces will identify all those who created a 'mob' and create a chaotic situation and take appropriate action. All citizens are being requested to play a tolerant role in the struggle to establish justice." Meanwhile, Home Affairs Advisor Lt. General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said, 'The way mob justice was done during the detention of former Election Commissioner Nurul Huda is not desirable. If any of the force is involved in such an incident in the presence of law enforcement, legal action will be taken after investigating it.' He told reporters after visiting the Kaliakoir Mouchak Horticulture Center in Gazipur on Monday.

Earlier, Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman had said that strict legal action would be taken against mob violence in the 'Officers' Address' meeting at the Army Headquarters on May 22. Then, in a briefing held at the Officers' Mess in Dhaka Cantonment on June 19, Colonel Staff Colonel Md. Shafiqul Islam, Colonel of the Military Operations Directorate of the Army Headquarters, said, 'The army has taken and will take strict action against mob violence and any situation that causes public suffering, and we have reduced mob violence to a great extent compared to the past.'

According to the human rights organization Human Rights Support Society (HRSS), "202 incidents of mob violence occurred in the 9 months from September 2024 to May 2-25. In these incidents, 165 people were killed and 202 were injured. And in the last 10 years, a total of 792 people lost their lives in mob violence. Of these, the highest number of mob violence occurred in 2024. Last year, 179 people were killed in such incidents. Police in Bangladesh have also been victims of mob violence. 

According to the police headquarters, there were 225 incidents of attacks on police personnel while on duty in the six months from August 2024 to February this year. Of these, 70 were major attacks. According to the police headquarters, there were 24 attacks against police in September last year, 34 in October, 49 in November, 43 in December, 38 in January and 37 in February.