The Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee has held the interim government responsible for the deterioration of law and order, mob violence, and the killing of workers, demanding accountability for these actions.
In a statement sent to the media on Thursday, the committee expressed its concerns. It was issued by Professor Anu Muhammad, Samina Lutfar, Harun Ur Rashid, Maha Mirza, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, and Marzia Prava on behalf of the committee.
According to the Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee, the interim government has shown no interest in making meaningful changes for the public’s welfare. The committee alleged that, in the year following the mass uprising, the interim government has brought back Hasina’s regime.
They pointed out that issues such as the endangerment of lives, the killing of workers, persecution of indigenous people, violence against religious minorities, and the suppression of women have continued under the interim administration.
The statement mentions that after the uprising, workers’ blood was spilled to overthrow fascism, but the first incident of extrajudicial killing occurred after the uprising, when a worker was murdered without trial.
In line with this, the state-backed joint forces killed Habib Islam, a worker at Evergreen factory, on September 2 during a peaceful protest against unjust layoffs. The committee strongly condemned this act.
The interim government, according to the statement, has not only allowed such events to occur without accountability but has also pushed the public’s basic human rights into jeopardy.
The committee claimed that the government, much like its predecessor, has adopted an anti-labor, anti-women, anti-indigenous, undemocratic, and authoritarian stance.
Referring to the rise of “mobocracy,” the statement highlights several instances of mob violence.
In Rangpur’s Taraganj, two rickshaw pullers, Ruplal Das and Pradip Das, were beaten to death. Similarly, in Gangachara, Rangpur, a false religious defamation campaign led to attacks on the homes of religious minorities, looting, and arson.
Yet, instead of arresting the attackers, the police detained a social media user who posted about the incident, tacitly endorsing the mob violence.
The statement further describes incidents in Lalmonirhat, where an elderly barber, Paresh Chandra Sill, and his son, Bishnu Chandra Sill, were falsely accused of religious defamation and beaten, but the police arrested the victims instead of the perpetrators, thus legitimising the mob attack.
It also recounts an incident in Dhaka, where a discussion on the Liberation War turned into a mob attack, followed by the arrest of 16 individuals, including freedom fighters, university professors, and journalists, who were later sent to jail in a counter-terrorism case.
The statement criticised the interim government’s spokesperson for calling the mob attacks “pressure groups” and offering support to them, mocking the people’s distress.
Regarding the trial of war crimes, the committee pointed out that the interim government has failed to adhere to international standards and instead has resorted to mass filing of false cases.
The current judicial system has normalised the detention of individuals without trial, especially for those accused based on political affiliations.
The statement also highlighted the contrast between the rights of war criminals, who are allowed bail, and ordinary citizens who are denied the right to bail even when they die in prison.
Furthermore, the committee expressed concern over the lack of action by law enforcement during violent attacks on students at Chittagong University and Bangladesh Agricultural University. It questioned why the joint forces failed to contain local mobs and violence.
The Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee demanded that the interim government immediately halt activities against public interests, including mob violence.
It also called for legal action against those responsible for worker deaths, gang rapes, violence against women, looting, and attacks, as well as the immediate payment of overdue wages to workers, cessation of exploitation, reversal of unlawful layoffs, and proper compensation for the family of the slain worker.
