Lynching and crimes against women have marked a sharp rise in July compared the previous months, with 20 people lynched and 70 incidents of rape, 60 of sexual harassment, and 55 of dowry-related violence taking place in the month.
The rights group Odhikar also recorded seven people being killed and 1,247 injured in political violence and five incidents of acid violence taking place between July 1 and July 31.
According to Odhikar, there were eight incidents of lynching, 51 of rape, 34 of sexual harassment, and another 34 of dowry-related violence in the previous month.
The number of extrajudicial killings marked a significant fall in July, with one incident of death in 'cross-fire'.
The month saw nine prisoners dying in jails.
Three Bangladeshis were killed and one was injured by Indian border guards at frontiers in July, an Odhikar report said.
The statistics of July show 13 newspersons were injured, three received threats, and three were assaulted in the month.
The Odhikar in its report also condemned the arrest of Ekramul Huq, editor of sheershanews.com, an online news agency, on July 31.
The report specially decried the arrest of Dhaka University student Abdul Kader, torturing him in police custody, and lodging three 'false' cases against him.
Odhikar expressed concern at the clauses of the 15th amendment to the constitution, particularly at what it termed the biased changes made to the constitution in an imposing and non-transparent manner, disregarding the need for any democratic consensus or referendum.
'The engagement and opinions of the opposition and those who were called on by the constitution amendment committee were neglected as well. Odhikar believes that the amendment will push the country into a legal and constitutional crisis and trigger severe political instability,' the report said.
The organisation urged all the political parties to take initiative to resolve the present constitutional crisis through discussions and to ensure people's mandate for any resolution of the crisis.
It also demanded that the gas exploration and extraction agreements signed with Conoco-Philips should be made public.
'The state-owned company BAPEX should be strengthened and engaged in lifting oil [and] gas. Parliament discussions are vital before the signing of any kind of agreement and a complete draft agreement should be uploaded [on] the government website for [gathering] public opinion,' it said.
In order to put an end to lynching, Odhikar recommended strengthening the police and the judiciary and making them free of political influence, so that people get back their confidence in the police and the administration of justice.
Source : New Age
