Shawdesh desk:

The police have decided to take steps to ensure conviction of probable candidates of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islam in order to disqualify them from the next general election.

The police headquarters held a special emergency meeting on July 6 to analyse the investigation into and trial of the cases filed against BNMP and Jamaat leaders and activists at times since 2013 on charge of arson and violence.

According to the leaked minutes, the meeting decided to pick ‘selective’ cases to bring maximum number of leaders and activists, especially possible candidates, under conviction.

The meeting chaired by deputy inspector general of police (crime management) Joydeb Kumar Bhadra also devised 10 mechanisms to confirm convictions of the opposition leaders and activists.

The meeting, which attended by the officials of the ranks of additional deputy inspector general designated for crime and operations at metropolitan and the police ranges, decided to analyse the selected cases regularly.

It also asked police officers concerned to take steps to ensure short interval between trial dates for expeditious disposal of the cases and maintain the accuracy of the prosecution witnesses from the police.

It also decided to evaluate the merit of the cases those ended in acquittal for early appeal against the acquittals and to contact respective courts for revocation of stays imposed on some cases.

The police officers concerned were also asked to maintain ‘good rapport’ with judicial officials and engage public prosecutors and their assistants and ruling Awami League leaders.

The leaked minutes read that the meeting chair in his opening statement said that there was huge foreign pressures on the government over the coming elections, and ‘in any case, the government must win the elections.’

The BNP and the Jamaat should be disqualified from election, and if they are convicted in the cases of arson and violence, none would be able to question it internationally, read the minutes.

The meeting chair would hold meeting with the law secretary on every Thursday to ensure instructions to the judge concerned to ensure the convictions.

According to the minute, the additional inspector general (administrations) Kamrul Ahsan told the meeting that if prosecution witnesses raised questions about sudden speeding up the trial processes, they should be told that it is for the justice, and simultaneously, other cases, including drugs and robbery cases, should be brought to trial to convince them.

The meeting asked to avoid any contradiction between the statements of prosecution witnesses from public and police in those cases and departmental proceeding would be taken for any such contradiction.

Prior to the meeting, the special crime management and non-resident Bangladeshi affairs of the police headquarters on June 22 asked all metropolitan police, railway police, and range chiefs to form committees to monitor cases of arson attack, serious crimes and police killings filed since 2013.

The letter signed by police headquarters additional deputy inspector general Jesmin Begum also given nine instructions for the monitoring committee asking updating the police headquarters every 15 days.

Joydeb Kumar Bhadra told New Age on Saturday that it was not only about the cases of 2013 and 14 but also other important cases.

The police headquarters have a cell to monitor sensitive cases, he said, adding, ‘We are reviving the cell and two meetings were held meanwhile. We have served letters so that they could take up important cases.’

Asked about holding meeting with law secretary and building good rapport with the judges, the police official argued that the criminal justice delivery system needed coordination.

He insisted that the police witnesses must appear in court otherwise it would be considered as negligence.

Over 35 lakh cases are pending with the country’s metropolitan and district courts as of December 31, 2022, according to latest Supreme Court statistics.

The BNP media cell statistics showed that 1,37,569 ‘false cases’ were filed against 49,80,826 leaders, activists and supporters of the party and its associate bodies between January 2009 and June 12, 2023.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday alleged that the law and the home ministries sent letters to law enforcement agencies and the judges to ensure prompt trials of the political cases filed since 2013 and dispose of those in two months.

Like him, Jamaat publicity affairs secretary Motiur Rahman Akhand told New Age on Saturday that the government devised the mechanisms to cling to the power.

He also said that the police would not succeed as long as the judicial system has a self-defence scope in the trial process.

According to the party, 1,10,472 Jamaat leaders, activists and supporters have been arrested in 23,893 cases after Awami League government assumed in the power. At least 96,093 leaders, activists and supporters were remanded in the police custody.

Government campaigner and Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik leader Badiul Alam Majumdar said that for a free, fair and participatory election, a level-playing-field for all was a must and ‘putting rivals in the jail in those cases, most of which are false, is ominous for democracy.’