Convicted fugitive working as a policeman

How did Habibur Rahman Habib, a former Rab man, who was among the 35 accused in the sensational seven-murder case in Narayanganj, continue his job at a police outpost in Barisal's Hizla upazila as an assistant sub-inspector, before being arrested by police only on Friday? We find this whole episode not only baffling, but extremely worrying.

A Narayanganj court had, in January, found all of the accused in the murder case, including Habib, guilty and had sentenced him to 17 years of imprisonment on charges of abduction and destroying evidence. How then, could a man charged with such serious and grievous crimes, be allowed to continue serving as a law enforcer for two whole months after being convicted, especially given that Habib was supposed to be suspended immediately after his indictment, as per law? How could he roam around freely for so long, that too, right under the nose of law enforcers?

It is difficult to accept that this happened simply because of sheer negligence on part of the law enforcers given how sensationalised the case he was involved in had become. However, even if that was indeed the case, what does that say about our law enforcing agencies? Moreover, what does it say about the state of law and order in our country?

This whole incident is totally unacceptable and must be taken seriously by the authorities. The concerned authorities must also conduct a credible investigation into the matter and find out what had really happened.