What is particularly agonising about the ghoulish crime is that it ended the life of a man who had an unflinching faith in democracy and constitutional politics. He was a leading organiser of the Liberation War in the southern region and his political career was never stigmatised by any dubious activities. He enjoyed wide acceptability cutting across party lines. Yet, he fell victim to the assassin's bullet.

The crime was committed when a special police drive was on in the southern districts. The districts, particularly Khulna, witnessed a series of political killings in recent times, but the law enforcers have failed to resolve any of those cases. It is not without reason that people may begin to blame their failure for further worsening of the situation. The criminals have apparently got away with everything they did.

The presence of outlawed extremist groups in the region adds a new dimension to the crime situation and it is for the first time that one such group has claimed the responsibility for the murder. However, the major political parties are still reacting to such crimes in more or less the same way as they did in the past. We believe these incidents are sending danger signals that the parties can ill afford to ignore. But the supporters of the Awami League turned their ire on political rivals. Could that vandalism be justified? The onus of proving themselves not guilty does not appear to rest, at least for the time being, with the Awami League's political rivals since a group has claimed the responsibility for the crime.

Political finger-pointing is not the answer to the problem. One theory on Monzurul Imam's killing has gone to the extent of surmising that it was the act of some group, which the police were chasing, and the crime was used as a diversionary tactic that would push the major political parties further away from each other and slacken the grip of the law.

It should be pretty clear to the political parties that they are treading a slippery ground where the only way to retain balance is to eliminate the menace of political vendetta through collective efforts. The sane elements on either side of the divide should unite and resist the hired killers and their godfathers who have turned politics into a highly hazardous proposition.