Expedite terror attack cases

Eleven years have passed and we are still waiting for the conclusion of the first major case of murder in suicide bombing which was directed at the Chittagong Court building premises that took two lives in 2005. The hit was carried out allegedly by JMB operatives and two cases were lodged by the police in 2008 against two members of the banned outfit, one for possession of explosives and another for murder. While the verdict related to possession of explosives has been passed in 2008, long eight years have elapsed in the case of the latter without any end in sight. The police have dragged their feet in producing witnesses to the court related to the trial for murder, and the manner in which the cased had been framed, smack of a serious lack of professionalism. What can explain police inability to produce a single witness in the last two years?

Today, we are confronted with a rejuvenated JMB and other extremist outfits. Should it come as a surprise when militants are snatched away from the police and cases against them flounder year upon year? The message given to these extremist elements over the last decade or so is that they may operate with impunity. Terrorist attacks cannot be dealt with in the same manner as other criminal cases. It is time to ensure that legal procedures in cases related to terrorists are conducted without undue delay and that witnesses are made to feel may feel safe to come forward to testify. The State has to demonstrate a zero tolerance policy towards militancy in Bangladesh soil.