Dhaka, May 6 (IANS). Bangladesh’s Awami League on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the increasing ‘false and baseless’ cases against common people across the country. The party said that despite getting bail from the court, the detained people are continuously facing difficulties in getting released.
Posting on social media, Awami League said, “These cases have now become a dangerous trap for the common people. On one hand, there are allegations of false cases being registered, on the other hand, even after getting bail, people face a lot of difficulty in getting released. On paper, bail is granted, but in reality, the release is stopped due to the ‘five-tier invisible clearance’ system and money games within the police.”
Citing its investigation, the party said that in at least 20 cases registered in different police stations of Dhaka, evidence of delay in release even after getting bail has been found.
Awami League says that according to the law, after getting bail from the court, it should be implemented immediately. But actually, once the order reaches the administration, a long process begins.
According to the party, “There are deliberate delays at every level, from the Deputy Commissioner to the Divisional Police Office, Intelligence Branch and the concerned police station. There are allegations that money is demanded at every step.”
Awami League also said that in many cases, when the family members are waiting outside the jail, the prisoners are suddenly shown in some other case and arrested.
“In political or dispute-related cases, if the police station is not managed, release becomes very difficult. As soon as someone is about to be released in one case, his name is added to the case in another nearby police station,” the party quoted Dhaka Judge Court lawyer Farzana Yasmin Rakhi as saying.
The party says that the provision of “interim report” in the country’s Criminal Procedure Code to protect innocent people from being harassed has now become a means of corruption.
The Awami League also alleged that the investigating officers let off influential people linked to the July 2024 protests with money, while it is the poor and innocent people who suffer the most.
The party said that legal experts consider bail as a ‘constitutional right’. But when these rights start being sold like a commodity at the administrative level, people lose faith in the justice system. To end this problem, immediate steps will have to be taken, such as digital tracking and fixing accountability.
–IANS
AY/ABM