Oliullah Molla, the general secretary of the BNP in Kashimari Union of Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira, was killed in a police “crossfire” on July 10, 2016. His family claims that police, along with several local leaders and activists of the Awami League, took him from his home that evening. The next morning, the family received news of his death.
At the time, police claimed that around 3:30 a.m. on the night of the incident, they signaled Oliullah to stop as he was riding a motorcycle. According to the police, he ignored the signal and instead threw bombs and opened fire on them. The police responded, and he was killed in the ensuing gunfire. In police records, the incident was described as an “encounter,” and Oliullah was labeled a “terrorist.”
Over the 15 years of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina, at least 1,926 individuals have reportedly fallen victim to extrajudicial killings under the guise of “encounters” or “crossfire.” This statistic comes from the human rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), which compiled the data from news reports.
“We want to propose certain reforms after discussing with various parties, to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.”
— Safar Raj Hossain, Head of the Police Reform Commission
After each incident of such killings, the government tells almost the same story. The Sheikh Hasina government and her administration have consistently denied that these are extrajudicial killings. However, the police’s Special Branch (SB) has recorded data on crossfires from 2015 to 2021. This information has recently come into the possession of Prothom Alo, showing that during these seven years, 1,293 people were killed in ‘crossfires’ or ‘shootouts.’ There is not a single district in the country where incidents of extrajudicial killings have not occurred, many of which involved political leaders and activists.
According to the SB’s statistics, the number of those killed in crossfires over these seven years is 120 more than the figure provided by the human rights organization ASK.
After each incident, the relevant law enforcement agencies file cases with fabricated descriptions of the crossfire, often implicating many others as accomplices of the deceased. In most cases, the families of the victims lacked the courage to file cases. Some who attempted to pursue legal action in court faced harassment and threats.
Eight years after the murder of BNP leader Aliullah, his wife Salima encountered a similar situation. On October 28, she told Prothom Alo, “My husband was taken away, tortured, and shot. We are threatened not to speak to anyone about it or file a case. My husband’s brothers were also arrested.” Salima filed a case regarding the incident on August 28 at the Satkhira court.
Source: Prothom Alo
