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Bangladesh gripped by spate of brutal mob attacks

At least eight people killed and 30 injured as rule of law breaks down
Bangladesh gripped by spate of brutal mob attacks

A file image of Bangladeshi protesters demonstrating against the lynching of a 13-year-old boy in Dhaka on July 14, 2015. More recently there’s been at least eight people killed and 30 injured in mob violence this month in Bangladesh, often egged on through social media use. (Photo by Munir Uz Zaman/AFP)

Published: July 26, 2019 08:00 AM GMT
Updated: July 26, 2019 08:00 AM GMT

On July 20, Taslima Begum went to a government primary school in the Badda area of the capital Dhaka, to find out about the admissions process.

The 40-year-old Muslim and single mother of two was planning to enroll her children at the school next year.

Not even in her worst nightmares could Taslima have expected this would be the last day of her life.

She reached the school gate about 8 am and started talking to other parents waiting for their children.

One of the parents suspected her of being a child abductor just as some people were approaching from the street.

Someone shouted, “a child abductor has been caught,” causing a frenzy. A violent mob was formed, and people started slapping and kicking Taslima by the school gate. It escalated rapidly as others joined in, beating her mercilessly with bamboo, wood and metal sticks.

Schoolteachers tried to rescue her and took her to the head teacher’s room but the mob would not relent. They dragged her out and resumed their savage beating.

Taslima finally lost consciousness, her body bloodied and battered from the brutal attack. By the time police arrived, she was already dead.

The killing sparked a massive public and media outrage. Police arrested five suspects for inciting and taking part in the violence after a nephew of Taslima filed a murder claim against 400-500 people.

Police chiefs later issued a notice declaring that beating or killing someone based solely on a suspicion of them being a child kidnapper was a serious criminal offence and urged people not to take the law into their own hands.

Taslima’s tragic end is just one of a spate of deadly mob-lynching cases in Bangladesh in recent weeks that have left at least eight people killed and 30 injured.

The mob violence was sparked after rumors spread on social media that child abductors were wandering around in the hope of abducting unsuspecting children.  There were even fake stories that the children were to be used as human sacrifices to bring good luck in the completion of Padma Bridge, the country’s largest infrastructure project ever.

The authorities, including police, issued warnings that it was just a false rumor but many people, mostly in rural areas, wouldn’t listen to them and so-called mob justice started being meted out on a daily basis.

Some people have also tried to exploit the situation for personal interests.

A Catholic woman was beaten by a Muslim mob July 24 after being accused of being a child abductor by two women at a village teashop in the Mymensingh district of central Bangladesh.

In her case police managed to rescue her after someone called an emergency hotline and duly arrested two women for inciting violence.

Father Fidelis Nengminja, parish priest of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Biroidakuni, Mymensingh, confirmed the woman was one of his parishioners.

“The woman is a Bengali and married to an indigenous Garo man. A local politician told me that she was carrying 2,000 Taka ($23.65) and that two women who knew about the money plotted to snatch it from her,” Father Nengminja told ucanews.com.

Observers say the rumor of human sacrifice, public frenzy and mob justice are a legacy of primitive, superstitious beliefs in a Muslim-majority country where illiteracy is still rampant and a culture of impunity dominates.

Holy Cross Archbishop Moses M. Costa, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, condemned mob violence as “unprecedentedly heinous” incidents, which had resulted from the development of a “restlessness and ultra-reactionary force” within the society.

“Socially and politically, we are passing through a troubling time,” Archbishop Costa told ucanews.com. “There has been a decline in moral values and human rights and this has led people to becoming extremely reactive and defying their conscience in their behavior. This means we are failing to enlighten minds of people through education and leadership.”

An absence of truly democratic politics and the curtailment of freedom of expression can give birth to “grievances” that explode from time to time, the prelate pointed out.

“Moreover, we live in a culture of impunity, complexity of justice system and extrajudicial killings by lawmen, and together these have encouraged people to take the law into their own hands,” the prelate added.

Dr. Shah Ehsan Habib, professor of Sociology at Dhaka University, agreed.

“A sense of insecurity has developed among people because of a lack of rule of law and poor legal justice system. People consider themselves vulnerable amid a lack of social protection; they develop aggression and resort to violence like hardened criminals,” Habib told ucanews.com.

“A man who took part in mob violence here would never do it if he was in Singapore, because he feels secure due to the strong social protection. Here, a toxic mental framing has developed in people the breed violence.”

In an age of political bias and manipulation of technological advancements, rumors can be deadlier than ever, he warned.

“In the past rumors spread through word of mouth and now social media is being used. The state mechanism is failing to perform properly due to political bias, traditional institutes like families and schools cannot educate and enlighten people, and even the media is biased too. So, people don’t trust media, they only trust social media today,” Habib added.

Jyotirmoy Barua, a Supreme Court lawyer and rights activist, said the state had to accept responsibility for the rise in mob justice.  

“We have seen the state legitimize extrajudicial killings in the so-called drug war while a culture of impunity exists and state law agencies fail to do their duty and prosecute and punish criminals through an effective legal system. So, people have taken for granted that mob killing is fine, even if someone is simply accused of a crime,” Barua told ucanews.com.

“Mob aggression poses a grave danger to the nation and it can be only tackled if our legal justice system is strengthened,” he added. “Law enforcers must take an impartial role, so our social and cultural organizations are able to perform freely to enlighten people.”

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