Few people could hold back tears after watching the brutal murder of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Constable Amirul Islam Parvez by BNP-Jamaat activists on television screens. The furore of the killers was so fiendish that even many eyewitnesses could not contain their emotions. Where is democracy in this incident? Is there any scope for arson attack or killing of people in a democracy?
Parvez was martyred by the anti-liberation forces to protect the spirit of the Liberation War.
Even after the independence, repeated attacks were made on the spirit of the Liberation War and to re-create Pakistan. Many patriots had to die to foil those attempts. Just as three million Bangalees have made it to the golden chapter of our glorious history by scarifying their lives in 1971, those who were killed by the anti-liberation forces in the post-independence era to protect the spirit of the Liberation War will also live in history as martyrs. Parvez is one of them.
Ziaur Rahman killed hundreds of freedom fighters after seizing power with firearms; they also received the status of martyrs. On the day of the sentencing of the war criminal, murderer and rapist Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, such bizarre rumours were spread that he was seen on the moon. Consequently, fanatical elements took to the streets and killed many patriots, including policemen. They are all martyrs. Like 30 lakh martyrs of the Liberation War, the blood of these people will not go in vain. Just as the brave Freedom Fighter Sikandar Mollah woke up to Bangabandhu’s call and jumped into the War of Liberation, his patriotic son Shaheed Amirul Islam Parvez also jumped in to resist the descendants of the 1971 losers. He lost his life but was not defeated. If the spirit of our Liberation War is attacked again, the future generation will follow footsteps of Shaheed Parvez and resist anti-liberation forces.
Two persons have been arrested in connection with the murder. As CCTVs were installed in all areas of Dhaka city on October 28, there is no way to identify the wrong people. Even we, the television viewers, could clearly see the faces of the murderers. Shaheed Parvez was attacked with lethal weapons even after he fell to the ground. It was not a sight to behold. Such people are rarely seen. They surely took a lesson from their guru Ziaur Rahman, who was accustomed to killing people on silly excuses.
In the eyes of the law, apart from the actual murderers, those who give the order, the instigator or the facilitator cannot escape responsibility for the crime. So, those who created a reign of terror in Dhaka in a planned way called upon mastans to come to the city and carry out mayhem cannot escape responsibility for the crime. Therefore, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies were listed as accused in the murder case. The law minister said that the trial of the Parvez murder case will be fast-tracked. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Chief Habibur Rahman said all necessary measures will be taken to ensure the guilty are punished. We are confident that the law minister will take special initiatives to keep the prosecution lawyers alert so that the accused of this monstrous murder and their instigators are not released on bail by finding loopholes in the law. Meantime, the officials of the PP, APP and the Attorney General’s Office will be instructed to make arrangements so that they can immediately approach the higher court if the lower court grants bail.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu, the leaders of fanatical parties like Nezam-e-Islam, Muslim League, Jamaat-e-Islami got Ziaur Rahman as their saviour and united under his umbrella. Zia accommodated the notorious Razakars in his illegal cabinet. They have formed a political party called BNP, most of which leaders were either anti-liberation individuals or their ancestors. Based on the information, the home minister said the two direct killers are different office bearers of BNP’s Chhatra Dal. Further investigation may also reveal that they are descendants of Razakars. So they killed a policeman committed to the spirit of the Liberation War.
Parvez’s father took up arms during the Liberation War against the Pakistani invaders and their Razakar allies. He could have been killed at that time, but he survived. Today, Parvez was martyred by ant-liberation elements, but he will keep inspiring those who believe in the spirit of the Liberation War. His seven-year-old daughter will grow up without her father but will be able to say proudly that her father was martyred while suppressing the opponents of independence, as three million Bengalis did during the Liberation War.
The pro-Pakistanis who moved forward on October 28 have failed to achieve their target. They thought they would cause a catastrophe and seize power in the same illegal and unconstitutional manner their party founder Zia did. But they could not succeed. Moreover, whatever support there was for BNP among some people before, it ended after seeing their criminality— setting fire to the police hospital and an ambulance carrying patients and attacking the Chief Justice’s house, members of police and RAB members and journalists working to collect news. Incidents of arson and vandalism are not new to BNP-Jamaat. It proved once again on that day, the two groups had not abandoned their approach. BNP and Jamaat are still the same. Jamaat cannot participate in the election process as per the Supreme Court’s order. That is why the Dhaka Metropolitan Police logically did not permit Jamaat for the rally. But Jamaat broke the barricades, for which legal action will have to be taken against them as well. Jamaat’s direct role in the anarchy, destruction and physical attacks of that day did not go unnoticed.
In the words of Rabindranath Tagore, these are all Kalnaginis (a type of snake), who are spreading poisonous breath all around. It is high time to cut off the heads of these venomous snakes. Arrangements have to be made so that no one can be killed like Shaheed Parvez in the future. The entire nation will be waiting to see the trial of the direct and indirect killers of Shaheed Parvez.
The writer is a retired judge of the Appellate Division
Source: Dhaka Tribune.