Politics

BCL men killed in gunfights, not crossfire: Minister

Home Minister Assaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Wednesday claimed that the two slain BCL leaders were killed in Dhaka and Magura on Tuesday in gunfights, not crossfire, reports UNB."It’s not correct they were killed in crossfire...Police and Rab said they were killed in separate gunfights,” the Home Minster said.Assaduzzaman was talking to reporters after an international conference on `Restorative justice: from crime prevention to conflict transformation` at Sonargaon Hotel in the city in the morning.Replying to a question, the Home Minister said criminal, whoever he or she is, will be brought to justice. "We won’t spare anybody in this regard...whether they’re members of Chhatra League, Chhatra Dal or other parties," he added.Hazaribagh thana unit Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) president Arzu, who is the prime accused in the killing of teenage boy Raja,  was killed in a reported gunfight between his associates and members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the city`s Hazaribagh area early Tuesday.A local Jubo League leader was killed in another reported shootout between his associates and police in Doarpar municipality area of Magura district town early Tuesday.He was an accused in the case filed in connection with the Jubo League factional clash in Magura that killed a person and left an expecting mother and her baby inside the womb wounded by bullets.Earlier, addressing the inaugural session of the international seminar as a special guest, the Home Minister said, “If we can prevent crimes, our streets, homes and workplaces would become safe.”The offenders who go through a restorative justice process are less likely to commit crime again than offenders who spent time in prisons, Kamal said quoting an international research.Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin, who was present there as the chief guest, said the government is committed to reinforcing people`s confidence in the criminal justice system. "I believe there’s an opportunity to look at the practice of restorative justice in a wider way in Bangladesh," she added.Chaired by Home Secretary Md Mozammel Haque Khan, the opening session was addressed, among others, by GIZ Country director Tobias Becker and DFID country representative MS Sarah Cocke.Bangladesh government, German Development Cooperation and DFID jointly organized the two-day international conference.