THE continuation of extrajudicial killing and custodial death during the tenure of the interim government, which was installed after a political changeover that promised meaningful changes in governance, is worrying. Right group Odhikar in its latest report, published on July 24, says that at least 29 people were extrajudicially killed between August 9, 2024 and this June 30, which spans about a year of the interim government in office. Eight of the incidents took place between April and June this year and the events 鈥� death in gunfire and from torture and physical assault 鈥� have reportedly involved the police, the Rapid Action Battalion, the Coast Guard and the joint forces. The report also lists 22 custodial deaths in April鈥揓une, account for a total of 61 since the interim government has assumed office. The report also lists 233 deaths in political violence and 488 cases of rape in 11 months, indicating a persistently hostile landscape for rights and security, questioning the accountability of and reforms in law enforcement.
The interim government was installed in the aftermath of a mass uprising on promises for dismantling authoritarian structure and reorienting state power towards democratic accountability. In this context, the recurrence of extrajudicial killing and custodial death not only undermines the promises but also spells out a failure to break from coercive methods of the previous regime. The continuity of torture, custodial death and killing under ambiguous circumstances, once rampant during the previous Awami League regime suggests that the institutional machinery that enable such abuses remains intact. Terms such as 鈥榞unfight鈥� and 鈥榚ncounter鈥� are still used in official narratives, echoing that of the Awami League era. In February, the joint forces cited a 鈥榞unfight鈥� at Mohammadpur in Dhaka where two young people were killed, echoing incidents from previous years that were often discredited by rights groups. The persistence of such tactics raises concern that security institutions continue to operate beyond judicial oversight, without restraints or accountability. The government鈥檚 silence, or selective acknowledgement, only reinforces this status quo. Without clear directives, transparent investigation or institutional reforms, such abuses are unlikely to go.
The interim government should, therefore, prioritise urgent structural reforms in law enforcement, beginning with independent investigation of all allegations of extrajudicial killing and custodial death. Such reform is a must for restoring public confidence in the rule of law. There should be accountability for every instance of extrajudicial killing and custodial death. The quarters involved should be held to account and subjected to oversight. Only then can Bangladesh move meaningfully towards a just and humane order.