Anu Muhammad :

It was 6 March 2013. Tawki was picked up by killers of a criminal gang while he was on his way to the Sudhijan Library in Narayanganj. They were led by a son of the notorious Osman family, known as the mafia of the area. They assaulted the boy in such a manner, that it is hard to bear just listening to the details. At one point the boy died and they dumped him into the river Shitalakkhya.

What was this young boy's fault? He would write poetry, stories, he would draw and was a voracious reader. His house was filled with books. He would also visit the library regularly. He would excel in his exams. Those evil elements had picked him up and killed him while he was on his way to the library.

River Shitalakkhya is witness to many gruesome killings. Before and after the Tawki incident, many others had been killed and dumped into that river. The miscreants would commit their crimes unabated. The district administration and law enforcement agencies would protect them. Tawki's father, artiste and organiser Rafiur Rabbi had always been vocal against them. He would organise the public. He was a thorn in the flesh of the miscreants who used government power to do as they pleased. It was to teach Rabbi a lesson that they brutally murdered his son.

Rabbi was not silenced. His fellow fighters, writers, artistes, journalists, cultural activists and left-leaning political activists of Narayanganj have also remained vocal. At the risk of their lives they relentlessly protested and demonstrated against these mafia elements. Their extraordinary unified resistance led to the formation of the Tawki Platform against Terror. This platform has been an inspiration to the people, remaining actively vocal against all sorts of terror including the killing of Tawki, against looting and grabbing of property.

There had been a strong movement. As a result, within a year of Tawki's killing, the agency that was investigating the incident was obliged to arrange a press briefing to answer the questions involving who, what, why, when and how Tawki was killed. But after the killers were identified, things came to a standstill. The prime minister of the now toppled government Sheikh Hasina stood in parliament and said that she would always stand by the Osman family. This was the family of killers, looters, extortionists and property grabbers. From that moment the trial of this case came to a complete halt.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina and these miscreants have been swept away by the mass uprising. But they have still not been tried. Sheikh Hasina must also be tried for halting the trial of the Tawki killing and that of innumerable more crimes of murder, looting, torture and exploitation, as well as being the patron of such criminals.

It is not just the Tawki incident, but countless more killings and enforced disappearances that have taken place all over the country. None of these crimes has been brought to justice. We are now learning about Ayna Ghar, the horrifying detention cells. After the fall of that oppressive government it had been hoped that now the administration, the police stations, the courts, would all function properly to ensure justice. But seven months have passed and no tangible progress has been made.

A number of other incidents that took place during the rule of Sheikh Hasina must also now be brought forward. It has been 13 years since the murder to journalist couple Sagar and Runi. The court has repeatedly pushed back the dates. This trend remains even after the exit of Hasina. Nine years have passed since the rape and killing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu in Cumilla. No investigations have even been carried out. Even in these seven months nothing has moved. There is no development regarding the Munia rape and killing case either. In fact, there is apparently a concerted effort to establish that the accused person is actually innocent. There is no trace even after the fall of the government. There were many incidents of killing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, particularly of young organisers. There was hardly any news of these incidents being investigated and brought to justice. It is the same now.

The people of Bangladesh fought the liberation war to establish an independent country with a qualitative difference. But Bangladesh for the last few decades has been running on the Pakistan model. During Pakistan times there was the clique of the wealthy business groups, known as the 22 families, who would run the country in collusion with the civil and military bureaucracy. That system had been in place in Bangladesh too. In fact, it became all the more deeply embedded during the rule of the last government. Autocratic powers were used to demolish all democratic systems. All institutions were smashed and destroyed. No institution could work independently.

Such a system is required to centralise and hold on to all power and wealth. That is why there was an alliance to keep autocracy alive. In the name of development, various life-threatening projects like Rampal, Payra and Matarbari were taken up from the Sundarbans to Cox's Bazar. All sorts of agreements were signed, including with Adani, and these agreements will have long-term detrimental effects on the country. With various "development" projects, encroachments and pollution, the country's rivers are dying. Air pollution has created a nation of ailing citizens. Playgrounds and parks have been gobbled up by profit-mongers. Mismanagement of the streets is leading to systemic death of people commuting every day. It was to change this state of affairs that people gave their lives in the 2024 uprising. The previous government has fallen. Now we need to create a path of change.

However, the trials for the killing of Tawki, Sagar, Runi, Tonu and Munia remain hanging in mid-air and many other incidents have cropped up. Hardened criminals and convicts are being mysteriously released. Abrar, who was brutally killed by BUET Chhatra League, is being nominated for the Independence Day award, while the death-row convict guilty of killing him, has escaped from prison.

That is why on 2 March the Gonotantrik Odhikar Committee expressed deep concern in a statement, saying, "... killing, rape and mob violence are steadily escalating all over the country. All sorts of cultural activities, women's free movement and sports, etc., are being hampered. Certain leading writers and teachers of the country have been receiving threats to their lives, yet no action has been taken against those who issued the threats.... There has been news of air force firing on unarmed people in Samity Para of Cox' Bazar and a local youth Shihab Kabir Nahid was killed.... the post mortem is enshrouded in mystery.... People's political, democratic and civil rights should have been consolidated after the July mass uprising, but there are regularly threats to people's lives and property there....The joint forces' drives, instead of offering safety to the public, have increased incidence of harassment and extrajudicial killing."

In various places mob attacks are creating alarm and dismay. This government is pledge-bound to establish justice. We still hope the contrary trend will come to a halt, that the government will set precedence by the speedy trial of the Tawki, Tonu, Sagar, Runi and Munia killings and that no longer will killers and miscreants be encouraged by trials left hanging in the air.