There are today grave worries about the law and order situation in various parts of the country. These worries on our part are related to the murder of a local politician in Narsingdi on Thursday. Md. Sirajul Haque, chairman of Banshbari union parishad under Raipura upazila of Narsingdi district, was murdered in broad daylight while he was riding a motorbike, probably on his way home. The audacity which his killers demonstrated at the time reflects the dire conditions we are in at present. The murder testifies to the recklessness with which criminal elements have been parading their sinister images in the country. With all these reports of people getting kidnapped and killed or disappearing without trace, there are reasons for citizens to be concerned about the situation. This being an election year in Bangladesh, it is essential that the government get a grip on the situation and move decisively against the forces of lawlessness and disorder.

There are allegations that the Banshbari union parishad chairman was murdered by the supporters of his deceased rival with whom he was at loggerheads ever since he decided to contest the election as an independent when the latter was chosen as the official Awami League nominee. The issue thus calls for thorough investigations by the law enforcement agencies, given that much violence following the murder has already taken place. It is important for the authorities to go after the killers --- it should not be a difficult task since in Bangladesh politics has always been local and people in the rural regions are quite aware of one another's movements --- in the interest of social order. The killing of the union parishad chairman is again a sign of the sinister power criminals hold through possession of weapons. It is time for the government to conduct a thorough operation to flush out people with criminal records and in possession of weapons they can freely use to intimidate citizens. Indeed, the very fact that criminals wield deadly weapons --- and they have been doing it for a long time --- is a broad hint of how easily weapons become available for use against social order. It is today an absolute necessity for the authorities to launch operations against those who peddle arms and ammunition and supply them to criminals, political activists and others in the country.

Meanwhile, there should be no sloth in the efforts to locate and arrest Sirajul Haque's killers. Once that is done, it will be possible to identify their patrons, indeed those dark forces which surely must have ordered the murder of the union parishad chairman. The sooner the issue is resolved, the easier can we breathe.

By Editor-in-Chief -Enayetullah Khan