The rapid growth of mobile banking has been a great boon for people across the country.
Unfortunately, it has also seen an increasing trend of organised criminals actively targeting the many mobile banking agents who carry large sums of cash on them as part of their job.
According to incidents disclosed to the Dhaka Tribune by local police and various hospitals, at least 50 bKash agents have been mugged in the last year alone. Tragically, the rise in violent robberies led to a bKash agent losing his life in Badda this month after muggers shot him and stole Tk1.5 lakh.
The DMP commissioner acknowledges the police have noted an increase in street robbery and mugging in recent years against a backdrop of other forms of crime declining.
It is clear, however, that the official figures reported to police of 173 muggings across the country, with only 38 in the Dhaka metropolitan area in the first two months of the year, reflect a high level of under-reporting. Surveys indicate the real number is much higher, but many victims never report the muggings to the police.
Matters are also made by worse by some known muggers who have been caught and arrested, being readily able to secure bail and start committing the same crimes again.
A smart, multi-level approach needs to be taken to clamp down on this worrying trend.
Communication and co-ordination are key. The police must get better at working with mobile finance companies to provide agents with the same level of protection provided to bigger banks.
Special task forces should be set up to identify and gather evidence against organised gangs to stop them from growing any bigger.
Above all, ongoing efforts to improve community policing and beat patrols should be boosted to help deter criminals and build greater reassurance for the public at large.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
