Patronization, Normalization and Routinization of Extrajudicial Killings

In the past decade, particularly since 2014, the number of extrajudicial killings has increased significantly. It is also during this period that ‘crossf ire/encounter’–euphemisms for the extrajudicial killings – became a part the public vocabulary. While the incidents themselves are heartbreaking and cause enormous pain to the families of the victims, the country also had to witness how the phenomenon has been patronized by the government. A worrying trend has been the acceptance of the phenomenon as normal, to speak loudly in favor of it and to try to justify it.

In 2018, Benazir Ahmed, then chief of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), questioned the very existence of the phenomenon saying that “extrajudicial killings’ is a mistaken word” (Prothom Alo 2018). In a similar vein, the government and the members of the ruling party have continued to deny the occurrence of extrajudicial killings (Dhaka Tribune 2021).

As if these denials are not enough, the perpetrators of the extrajudicial killings are being showered with awards and accolades. The case of Pradeep Das of the Teknaf Police is a case in point. Pradeep had received the Bangladesh Police Medal twice. He was awarded the Bangladesh Police Medal in 2019 for his ‘exemplary service and bravery’. His award nomination and citation mentioned six instances of bravery. In each of these instances, occurring between October 24 and November 30 of 2018, the alleged criminals have been killed in a so-called gunfight or crossfire (Alam 2020). In one of these incidents, the wife of the victim claimed that he was picked up from home, and then murdered in cold blood. In 2019, Pradeep was awarded the ‘Best Officer in Charge (OC) of Cox’s Bazar District’. In the same year, he was awarded, for the fifth time, the ‘Best OC in the Chattogram Range”. It is not that the authorities were unaware of his ‘tactic’ in dealing with the menace of the so-called drug trafficking. It was widely reported in the press that the entire region has become a killing field, and many have been victims of extortion – they were told that unless they pay the extortion money, they would be put to ‘crossfire’ (Alam, 2019; The Daily Star 2021). Whereas years later, during the prosecution of Pradeep, the public prosecutor argued that if OC Pradeep had not been arrested for the murder of Sinha, more crossfires would have taken place. The court observed in response that this claim is valid, substantiated and carries weight (Islam 2022).

Yet, the leaders of the ruling party and its allies have consistently been advocating “crossfire”/”encounters”. In 2014, Sahjahan Khan, an influential cabinet member, said that the so-called crossfire has gained acceptance and there is some need for crossfire to eliminate terrorism (BBC Bengali 2014). The Minister of State for Home Affairs said, very few people are dying in the crossfire in the country. Most of them are killed in gunfights. Those who are dying are mainly absconding accused. They died in a gunfight during their arrest. These are not crossfires, he claimed. In 2015, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, a member of the Awami League’s presidium, said, “miscreants will be put to ‘encounters’ if it is necessary to curb violence” (Prothom Alo, 2015).

In an interview to Deutsche Welle on September 18, 2020, Amir Hossain Amu, a member of the Bangladesh Awami League’s advisory council, said:

The things that have come out of the society today, the way militancy took root, the way it became so pervasive, the way it had spread in the world, had it not been decided to crossfire in this way, then I think it would not have been possible to suppress it. Similarly, even after the declaration of zero tolerance anarchy including militancy, and drugs have spread in this country, there was no stopping of these. In that case if shoot on-the-spot are done, it is being done not for need of the state, but for the national needs (Deutsche Welle, 2020).

His comment clearly suggests that a decision has been made by the government regarding crossfire. These incidents are neither sporadic not abrupt, far from aberration at the field level, but a result of government decision.

The Jatiya Sangsad (National Assembly), where laws are to be made, had seen repeated instances of lawmakers offering unqualified support to the extrajudicial killings and even demanding that ‘crossfires’ be used as a tool to curb crimes. Members of the parliament, who had taken an oath to uphold the constitution, extended support to an act which is clearly a violation of the constitution and the rights of the citizens provided by the constitution. On September 27, 2016, Kazi Firoz Rashid, an MP representing the Jatiya Party (JP), demanded that women and child abusers be shot dead in the crossfire without being brought to justice (bdnews24 2016). In the wake of the rise in incidents of rapes in early 2020, on January 14, during a discussion in parliament, five MPs demanded that the accused be killed without trial. They called for “shoot and killing” as a tactic to combat the growing number of rape cases. Jatiya Party member Kazi Firoz Rashid, once again, joined the call saying that the “encounter is must” to make the society rape-free. He and Mujibul Haque proposed that those accused of rape be killed in ‘encounter’. Tofail Ahmed, one of the senior-most leaders of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League, and another member of the party, supported their statement. Apart from this, Najibul Bashar Maizbhandari, the leader of the Tariqat Federation, an ostensibly Islamist party, said, he can swear on God that “if you crossfire on them, you can go to Paradise, there is no problem” (Desh Rupantor 2020).

These are a few examples of political leaders and government officials who found no problems with the extrajudicial killings. There are others, including journalists, who are quite euphoric about the so-called ‘crossfire’ and often suggested on social media that putting the alleged criminals to crossfire is the best way to deal with them. The actions of the government, the denial of the leaders and their efforts to rationalize have not only contributed to the perpetuation of the phenomenon but also normalized the phenomenon. Once it is normalized it also became a routine. The press statements of the government regarding these incidents are so identical that it hardly makes news in mainstream media.