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| The scourge of extrajudicial killings has become commonplace in South Asia. (Photo supplied) |
A group of rights
activists defied the scorching sun on Aug. 3 and took to a busy street in
Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka to stage a silent protest, holding placards to
demand an end to the reign of extrajudicial killings in the country.
“Is Bangladesh a crossfire state?” read one placard.
“Crossfire” is a common euphemism for extrajudicial killings by
law enforcers in Bangladesh. Other terms including "encounter,"
"gunfight" and "fire-in-self-defense" have a similar
meaning.
The activists were enraged over the latest and one of the most
talked about extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh in recent times.
On July 31, a police officer shot dead Sinha Mohammad Rashed
Khan in Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar district. Khan, 36, was a retired army
major who once served as an officer of the Special Security Force that provides
protection to top government officials including the prime minister and foreign
dignitaries.
Police said the firing was in self-defense as Sinha pointed his
gun when police sought a routine inspection of his vehicle and asked him to
come out at a checkpoint. Police also allegedly found drugs in the car
including 50 pieces of yaba (methamphetamine), a drug produced in Myanmar.
On numerous occasions, law enforcement agencies have presented similar stories of firing in self-defense and possession of drugs after crossfire deaths. It is a too common story in Teknaf, a beautiful coastal area just across from Myanmar and close to Rohingya camps sheltering over one million refugees.
