With due respect to her, we beg to differ. The observation sounds out of touch with the ground reality. Firstly, the newspaper reports have been rife with information of police excesses committed at different points. The victims' names and addresses have appeared in reports along with their photographs in some cases. An extremely disquieting feature of the mass arrests has been the subhuman conditions many of the detainees, huddled in limited spaces, were put through. It seems coming to Dhaka has become a hazardous proposition for the young men from different parts of the country. None of these things seem to have been taken cognizance of.

Whereas one would have expected the PM to be seized of the allegations and issue orders for an investigation into the reported police excesses so as to prevent recurrence of the unfortunate incidents, her assertion could be regarded as being supportive of what has been happening.

The PM has given us to understand that the government acted on the basis of specific information and documentary evidence that a conspiracy was being hatched to oust it. What we want to emphasise is that if the prior knowledge of the conspiracy was specific, then the counter-action should have been specific, too. Instead, what we have seen is an indiscriminate and massive operation.

The PM has contended that there is documentary evidence suggesting hatching of 'a conspiracy'. Toppling of a government is a reprehensible political agenda and we have vehemently opposed it. Similarly, we decry the massively repressive measures of the government which have rubbed the wrong side of the people's sentiments. It is now the duty of the democratically elected government to share its 'specific information' regarding 'a conspiracy' with the public. People have the right to know what was the pressing need to arrest such a huge number of people, most of whom do not appear to be even remotely connected with politics, let alone politics of conspiracy.