The number of mob lynchings has increased in the country since the August 5 regime change. This type of mob violence is increasing due to the lack of the rule of law and the impunity of government-backed terrorists, experts say.
A statistic by the human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) has revealed that 172 people were killed in lynchings across the country from August last year till May 31 this year.
In the last 5 months of last year, 96 people were killed in mob violence. And in the first five months of this year, 76 people were killed.
According to the organisation, in some places, these people were killed by creating mobs by accusing them of being thieves, robbers, and extortionists, and in some places, they were associates and associates of the Awami League.
From the chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus, to leaders of the government allies, like the National Citizen Party (NCP), BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, are publicly provoking such killings.
Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan has said that killing people by creating a mob is a planned murder and a serious crime. She told the Ajker Patrika newspaper that mob lynchings are planned and deliberate murders. All those who participate in it are equally responsible.
According to Section 302 of the Bangladesh Penal Code, intentional murder is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
According to ASK, 21 people were killed in mass beatings in August itself, the month of the mass uprising. In turn, 28 people were killed in September, 19 in October, 14 in November, 14 in December, 16 in January, 11 in February, 20 in March and 18 in April.
From last August to May 31, 80 people were killed in Dhaka, 28 in Chittagong, 16 each in Barisal and Rajshahi, 14 in Khulna, 7 in Rangpur, 6 in Mymensingh and 5 in Sylhet.
From January to December 2024, 128 people were killed in mass beatings. Of these, 32 were killed in the 7 months before the mass uprising.
And 96 people died in mass beatings in the next five months. The highest number of killings occurred in September. At least 28 people were killed that month.
However, from January to December 2023, only 51 people died in mob lynchings in the entire year. The previous year, only 36 people died in 2022, 28 in 2021, and 35 in 2020.
Criminologists say that incidents like mob lynchings increase when social and political unrest reaches an extreme level in the country. Moreover, these incidents increase further when those involved in such incidents are not brought to justice.
Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton told Manabzamin that mob lynchings have increased in recent years compared to other years. Because there is social and political unrest in the country. It is like a journey on an uncertain path. In such a situation, people do not follow the law. Due to the creation of mob terrorism, people are being killed in mob lynchings. It is unfortunate, but there is no evidence that the government has taken concrete steps against this. They talk a lot in words, but in reality, the steps that need to be taken to stop such terrorism are absent.
Social and criminologist Dr. Touhidul Haque told Manabzamin that the number of deaths due to lynching is increasing in Bangladesh, and it is becoming difficult to control it. In addition, attempts are being made to legitimise it in various ways. If someone wants to harass or physically attack someone in a planned manner, then even if a few people get together and kill them after making a complaint, it becomes difficult to find a legal solution at some point.
Then the issue of who they were, how to identify them, and and who will provide the witnesses comes to the fore. If someone gets away with lynching someone intentionally and is not tried, the consequences will increase. He said that if someone commits a crime, the law enforcement agencies will solve it. Another issue is that lynchings happen suddenly or are planned. Whether it is sudden or planned, those involved in lynchings must be brought under the law.
Kazi Latifur Reza, Associate Professor of the Law and Human Rights Department of Ranada Prasad Saha (RP Saha) University, said: “In a civilised society, it cannot be justified to kill someone outside the judicial system. It questions our human values.”
Referring to the process of stopping the incidents of lynching, he said: “We must ensure public awareness, rapid verification and dissemination of information to prevent rumours, strict enforcement of laws, and exemplary punishment.”
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