We are all appalled and horrified hearing the news that a record about 15,000 people were arrested all over Bangladesh by the police under the provision of section 54 of CrPC in just 2-3 days (April 22-24, 2004). The bulk of the arrests, over 12,000, just happened in and around Dhaka. It is a grim scenario that paints a very negative image of Bangladesh. It is far too clear that these arrests are politically motivated; the government is trying to squish the democratic rights of people by ushering in a scorched-earth policy, which Bangladesh people have not experienced since the repressive rule of Pakistani military man Gen. Yahya Khan during the independence movement in 1971.

Without going into details the circumstances under which the police has made the arrests, let us analyse the scope of the law under which these gross abuses of civil rights are taking place. In order to foil a political movement that has gathered steam in recent months to oust the 'repressive government of Khaleda Zia', the government has invoked "section 54 of CrPC." This law, which is anti-democratic in nature, allows the police to arrest any person without obtaining an arrest warrant. The arrest under "section 54 of CrPC" can be made by a person belonging to the law-enforcement agency under the pretext of 'reasonable suspicion' that a person has committed, or is about to commit a crime. The phrase 'reasonable suspicion' is an indefinable term and as such the law should be declared unconstitutional.

The law enforcement agency members are not in a position to define the term 'reasonable suspicion.' Therefore, why should the society place undue burden on their shoulder? Bangladesh's police are notorious for taking bribe. The less we talk about it, the better for the image of the nation. But one thing is for sure; the police may become very proactive to enforce this ludicrous law just to fill their pocket. This scribe just read in the newspaper published from Dhaka on April 26, 2004, in which it was mentioned that police are making illegal money, a euphemism for bribe taking, hand over fist to exploit the situation created by Khaleda Zia Administration. The publicity generated by this kind of news paints a very dismal picture for Bangladesh. The government being very myopic is strengthening the grips of a rotten police department whose esteem is at the nadir at this time.

This writer has never read in the past the news of such mass of people getting arrested under the pretext of a dubious law called "section 54 of CrPC." As I have alluded to, this law is anti-democratic. The scope of the law is poorly or ill defined at best. I request Bangladesh's law scholars to look into the legality of this repressive law. How may one define the term 'reasonable suspicion'? Should one carry a loaded AK-47 or a sharp knife? What if a person is unarmed? Should that too qualify as a person about to get involved in a criminal act? A law has to be defined very clearly. This wishy-washy definition of 'section 54 of CrPC' is not up to the snuff. Bangladesh citizens should precisely know what constitutes the term 'reasonable suspicion.' There should be strict guideline on what constitutes to be reasonably suspicion as far as a citizen is concerned.

Like any other civilized nation's citizens, Bangladeshi people have this inalienable right to roam freely inside the nation. This falls into the category of personal freedom. But by profiling certain citizens such as young people who are critical of the regime as "possible law-breaker" the police under the guidance from the ruling party are obstructing personal rights. That is the reason there is this doubt that the clause of 'reasonable suspicion' won't work to incarcerate citizens of the country. A mass arrest is a dreaded thing in any democratic society. Bangladesh is not certainly under a Gestapo rule. Why then impetuously the government has invoked 'section 54 of CrPC' at this time?

If Bangladesh wants to join a comity of nations, then she should follow the norm vis-à -vis acceptable behaviour of the law enforcement agency. In the West, a person is hardly stopped in the road while driving by the police to check his or her valid driving licence. Police may however stop a driver if he or she breaks a law. This is a norm. Similarly, young folks assembling in different parts of Dhaka or Chittagong should not be deemed as anti-social elements. If they break law only then should the police step in. Otherwise, the police by arresting hordes of young people under the pretext of 'section 54 of CrPC' are creating chaos in the society.

The laws enacted in any nation are being done for the orderly functioning of a society. But Bangladesh seems to be an exception in this regard. The governments enacted this dubious law in the past to strengthen their repressive power. As far as democracy is concerned, it is a sure way to weaken the personal rights of ordinary citizens. Laws are enacted not to repress citizens but for smooth functioning of a society. The legality of 'section 54 of CrPC' should be challenged in the Supreme Court. All in all, it is an anti-democratic piece of legislation. A law should be well defined and not ambiguous. The phrase "reasonable suspicion" in 'section 54 of CrPC' makes it dubious and suspicious. That is why we see a gross miscarriage of justice in Bangladesh when we read that about 20,000 people were incarcerated because the inept and corrupt police are harassing people en masse thinking that some of them may join the movement to oust the present government under whom the Bangladesh society has become an 'unstable nation'. Make this repressive law illegal and save the very essence of democracy in Bangladesh.

Dr. A. H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, stays in New Orleans, USA