Untold Facts

Taposh Making Mountain Out of a Molehill?

Condemnable
There are no two opinions about law taking its due course in the incident of alleged attack to ‘kill’ Barrister Taposh on the 22nd October night at Motijheel area in Dhaka city. Unfortunately, due process of law has already been seriously dented by the Home Minister and the Law Minister of Bangladesh for their minds as already published in the press by the 24th October morning. Both have linked the trial of the 15th August 1975 ‘murder’ case with the very 22nd October incident. How could the persons in charge of implementing law in the seating Government pre-judge the matter even before the real inquest began?

The 15th August 1975
The 15th August 1975 case is a historic one linked not only with the life and death question of some individuals but also of the sovereign existence of the country, our motherland, Bangladesh. Because, since 1975 mid August Bangladesh survived and also moved ahead with self dignity for the last 35 years now all owing to the positive outcome of the 15th August change that rightly ditched BAKSALite autocracy and unenlightened dictatorship for returning to pluralism and multi-party democracy in tune with common aspirations of the people cherished for long and struggled hard to attain. Other benefits like people’s aspirations for upholding own historic and distinct values, ethics and morality that had been seriously threatened by the pre-1975 change Government were also tuned rightly in the 5th Amendment of the Constitution so much so that no government of different persuasions in over three decades did ever think useful, much less wise, to revert back to the pre 1975 position. Or in other words, the August 1975 change had put once again to openness and freedom that kept her in concert with the sovereign norms, values and status that the free world idea defines.

‘Killers’!
Very unfortunately the otherwise laudable and spontaneously welcome heroes of the change have been portrayed as ‘killers’ by the present genre of the Government. Fortunately though that they have not finally been adjudged so as the Appeal is under hearing at the apex court, the Supreme Court Appeal Division. The five pertinent points made in the leave to appeal, if allowed to go on neutrally without any hindrance or interference by the Government in the 5 Justice Bench, there is every possibility that the heroes would be declared innocent in the ‘murder’ trial for the fact was that on the 15th August 1975 there had been a successful army mutiny that obviously accompanied some sad bloodletting on both sides and not on one side of the brief encounter.

Undue Interference
Unfortunately the case proceeding is being interfered with as there are already many reports published. The two ministers pre-judgment comments in the matter, in particular, once again commenting on Taposh’s case are just clear examples of their evil intentions in the matter of the 15th August case in their ill will to have the judgment to please what their egos dictate. Older people like us clearly recall that the cadres of the party in the past interfered in the case while that had been first in the lower Session Judge court and then at the High Court during 1996 to 2001.

Miscarriage of Justice
From the very start of the case labeled as the ‘murder’ case made in Early October 1996 after 21 years of the actual occurrence giving damn to automatic indemnity the successful coup was lawfully entitled to have and further annulling the Indemnity sanctioned and provided though superfluously in late September 1975, the hand picked and clearly loyal Sessions Judge gave a verdict on the 8th November 1998 that 15 ordered to be put to death by FIRING SQUAD, amazingly, no where provided there in the C. P.C. In the judgment the session judge made a pertinent legal point that he had no time to look into each and every aspect of the case. The verdict was thus nothing but a clear miscarriage of justice.

Further that the over zealous, if not jealous, cadres earlier threatened the Judges as they continue to do now in verbatim in Bengali verbatim like Dekhe Nebo – I shall settle score- for securing a verdict as their egos would dictate the judges to do and they got so at least in the lower court.

The Previous Home Minister
The previous Home Minister Nasim led stick-wielding procession in the Dhaka city streets with vicious threatening postures against the High Court judges. The day one Justice of the High Court two members bench had in the split verdict in December 2000 acquitted five as innocent, residences and homes of the relations of the judge and of the relations of the acquitted ones were attacked, vandalized and put on arson. The same party government was in power then during 1996-2001 as it has now been since January 2009 and flexing muscles afresh as are being known from reports published recently after the 5th October appeal hearing began.

Once Again
It is not at all difficult to presume that they are hell bound this time to have the appeal verdict what they and their top leader would love to have in her vengeance she maintains since after 1975 as she had openly stated with the former BBC journalist (See Dhaka Bengali daily Naya Diganta, 24 March 2009). But fearing that they might not have the loveable verdict, they have resorted not only intimidating the judges but also creating hype in the country to strengthen and raise the pitch of intimidation. After all the judges are not only human beings but also poor fellows, unlike judges of the advanced and rich countries, in the poverty ridden country of Bangladesh wholly dependent for life and living on the monthly wages they get from the exchequer and job security subject to pleasure of the Government control.

Engineered
Be the facts are as mentioned above in brief, the case of Taposh may well have been an engineered one by the party in power for creating hype in the country in backdrop of falling ‘popularity’ of the party government now in serious credibility gap in almost all matters from price rise, deteriorating law and order situation, torture and killing of opponents at random, unlawful snatching of contracts for easy and illegal-immoral money making works and properties of vulnerable and helpless ones, creating new chaos in educational sector, submitting to external hegemony against the country, and many such issues boggling the nation. The 15th August made up case and its any verdict not liked by them may well be opportune point for them to go for extra- constitutional measures that the party had precedence like imposing the lone party BAKSAL and its instrument of torture like the unconstitutional and Indian R&AW managed RAKHSMI Bahini that had remained unleashed during 1972- mid 1975. The casualties ranging from physical-mental tortures to killings of all imagined political opponents in the hands of this killer force that enjoyed all impunity were never ever figured out but by some private groups in thousands, amazingly, even by the governments of other persuasions.

Rationale?
Entangling Taposh’s incident with the 15th August case has to be seen with another point of view in that the government has been impressing from the very start of January 2009 that they would revert back to the 1972 Constitution by scrapping off the 5th Amendment that had legal and legitimacy foundation on the 15th August Change. Should the verdict in the case is given as simple ‘murder’ and not recognizing it as a successful coup d’ ‘etat (See, Wikipedia- The International Encyclopedia), constitutionally the country would automatically revert back to the BAKSAL provision made in January 1975; and if the government with brute majority would then prefer they may well revert back to the 1972 Constitution. Could the country afford that vicious syndrome to survive as dignified nation?

Some Hope
It was a matter of some hope and so nice to know from a press report that the Taposh’s case was transferred to the DB (Detective Branch of Police). Should that go free from interference, the case might get a fair deal. Otherwise, this would be another instrument of witch hunting, I am afraid, for up to the stage, if it was not ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’.

Counter Evidence
By the way, when I was almost finishing this article a well informed friend of mine reminded me of Taposh’s making many Torab Alis like the one of the February BDR carnage fame! That confirmed my hunch about engineering so much so that the ‘bomb’ did fail miserably to touch his physique on the 22nd night in front of his own office. That also reminded me further that the weekly Holiday of the 23 October had a DB police official stating that no bomb but a bomb like heavy sound came of from one of the bursting compressors of an air conditioner there. The other hunch though of ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’ for ulterior motive thus remains there.

Author: Dr.M.T. Hussain