S A Shofiee,Sylhet

A storm of criticism is brewing over the resort incident in Sylhet.Questions have been raised about the role of the police and the administration in the forced marriage of 8 young people who were on a tour. However, the resort owner claims that the incident happened because of non-payment of extortion.

On Sunday (January 19), 16 young people from different areas came to the Regent Park Resort in South Surma, Sylhet for a visit. Locals detained them on charges of anti-social activities there. At one point, they called a qazi and married 8 young people. Not only that, the resort was vandalized and set on fire by an angry crowd.

However, resort owner Helal Uddin alleged that the incident happened because of non-payment of extortion. And lawyers have questioned the legality of such a marriage without taking it into police custody.

The Regent Park Resort, established in 2004, has been closed indefinitely since the incident. Lawyers and civil society activists say that it is completely illegal to forcefully marry after being arrested on charges of immorality. Such marriages can create social unrest. It is not desirable in any way. They have also raised questions about the role of the police.

However, those who organized the marriages say that the detained young women were married off by calling a Qazi as per the rules, considering their future. There is consent from both parties here. No one was forced into marriage.

Local residents allege that anti-social activities have been going on at Regent Park and Resort for a long time. They claim that school and college students are renting rooms at the resort and engaging in immoral activities. On the day of the incident, locals raided the resort and detained the students. During this time, the agitated crowd vandalized and set fire to some rooms of the resort.

Civil society activists have a different view of the incident of 'attacking locals' at the resort. They say that there may be different reasons behind taking the work of law enforcement into their own hands. However, it was not possible to talk to the families of any of the young victims of the incident.

Former president of the Sylhet District Bar, Advocate Emad Ullah Shahidul Islam Shahin, said, "If anti-social activities occur in any place, the people of the area are not at all responsible. The Criminal Procedure Code has empowered people to some extent. The law states that if a cognizable crime is committed or is likely to be committed in front of people, then people can detain them to prevent that crime. But immediately after detaining them, they must be handed over to the police officer or magistrate of the nearest police station."

He said, "If the people of the area think that anti-social activities are taking place in this park or there is a basis for it, then they should have informed the nearest police station. Since they have already detained them, then they could have limited themselves to handing them over to the police station. But forced marriage is not mentioned anywhere in Islam. These activities can create social unrest later."

Those who have been married will go to their respective families. It may not be a normal marriage someday. It is a social chaos, said Advocate Emad Ullah Shahidul.

Shahidul Islam said, ‘There is a need for some sociality in marriage. The consent of the children and the opinion of the parents are also needed. But if the villagers marry off unknown young men and women, it is social anarchy. This is not right.’

Regarding the marriage in the presence of the police, he said, ‘This is unacceptable under any circumstances. It is not the responsibility of the police to arrange marriages. There will be no compromise within the police station. The police will control crime. There is no compromise here (in the police station).’

Regarding the dissemination of videos on social media, Advocate Shahidul Islam said, ‘Forcibly arranging marriages without the consent of the in-laws is a crime. Live streaming or videotaping the incident and spreading it on social media is a cyber crime. Action should also be taken against those who have done this.’

Sylhet District Bar Member Advocate Ashfaquzzaman Chowdhury said, ‘Marriage is a social contract. If any agreement is forcibly made, it will become illegal. Therefore, these marriages are not acceptable in the eyes of the law. Whoever did this, it was not right at all. Rather, it would have been better if they had released the young people they detained in the custody of their families.’

Faruk Mahmud Chowdhury, president of Sylhet Citizens for Good Governance (SUJON), said, ‘First of all, the resort authorities have done wrong by giving the young people the opportunity to do such immoral things. Secondly, the general public cannot do this. Even if they called 999, the police could have gone and conducted a raid. But the public cannot take the law into their own hands. Moreover, it was not right at all to spread the videos of the young people on Facebook.’

He also said, ‘They could have detained them on charges of immoral acts and handed them over to the police. But it was not right to forcefully give them marriages. It should have been considered whether those whose dowry was 10 lakh taka have that capacity. Rather, the question now is whether this marriage will survive or not.’

He said, ‘The detained young women told us that if they leave the scene, their lovers may cheat them. Therefore, they were married considering their future. The OC of Mogla Bazar Police Station and local elders were present during the marriage ceremony.’
Additional Deputy police Commissioner (Media) of SMP Mohammad Saiful Islam said, the OC went to the spot after receiving information about vandalism and arson at the resort. But he was not there until the marriage ceremony. He also said, no one has complained to us about the forced marriage ceremony. Action will be taken if any such complaint is received.