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July
3, 2000
Feni,
July 2 (UNB) – Some 174 murders, including 58 political ones, took
place in the district in last four years, indicating that the law and
order situation in the frontier district continues to go down the
slope.
According
to police records, these people fell prey to assailants from June 1996
to June 23, 2000.
Among
the political murders, 34 were the activists of ruling Awami League
and its front organisations, and 24 of the main opposition BNP and its
front organisations.
Year-wise
breakup of the political murders: 1996- six (AL-4, BNP-2), 1997- 16
(AL-9, BNP-7), 1998- 10 (AL-6, BNP-4), 1999-21 (AL-13, BNP-8) and 2000
(till June)-five (AL-2, BNP-3).
Besides,
116 people, mostly women, were killed during the period in various
incidents.
More
worrying is that in most cases the assailants went unpunished as the
law-enforcers had played the role of onlookers.
There
have been allegations that most of the victims’ families refrained
from filing cases for fear of reprisal by the criminals.
They
accuse a section of political leaders of patronising the killers to
gain their party or personal interests, contributing to the
deteriorating law and order situation of the district.
Police
recognised that 200 crimes are committed in the district every month
on an average against 60-70 in 1996.
The
thing that worries the residents of the district most is the numerical
rise of murder incidents.
Of
the murders that took place in last six years showed that 25 people
were killed in 1995, 30 in 1996, 49 in 1997, 36 in 1998, 56 in 1999
and 22 in 2000 (till June).
Other
crimes, according to the police records, are also on the rise in the
district.
During
the period, 450 robberies took place here in addition to 316 clashes,
700 thefts, and 52 rapes.
Both
the Deputy Commissioner and the Police Super of Feni feel that it’s
the political consensus that could bring back normalcy in the
trouble-torn district.
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