Around Tuesday noon, lawyer Nagen Mitra withdrew Tk 50,000 from a Sonali Bank branch in Dhanmondi 27.
Dev Dulal Mitra, the victim’s son and a senior reporter for the daily Bhorer Kagoj, told this newspaper, “The incident happened in broad daylight on a crowded road, yet the muggers showed no trace of fear.”
He added they refrained from filing a complaint with police as they felt there was no point doing so.
Mitra’s comments reflect a disturbing reality: incidents of mugging and snatching have been taking place almost every day, often in broad daylight, and little is being done to arrest the trend.
This is something that has been stoking serious concern among the people.
Additionally, incidents of gunfights and killings have also seen a rise.
Just yesterday afternoon, a woman named Ayesha Begum died on the spot after being hit by a stray bullet when criminals opened fire in Dhaka’s Mirpur Bauniabandh area.
According to police, the shooting took place over a drug-related fight. Ayesha was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After the fall of the Hasina-led government on August 5, police stations barely functioned for several weeks, leaving numerous incidents unreported.
Whatever data is available at Dhaka Metropolitan Police headquarters reveals a rise in criminal activities in September compared to the month before.
According to it, 119 murder cases were filed in August, and it rose to 148 in September. The count has already exceeded 100 in the first three weeks of this month.
DMP officials, however, said the recent number of murder cases might not fully reflect the current trend, as several incidents, which occurred in July and August, were reported late.
Meanwhile, the number of mugging incidents saw a sharp rise, with 14 cases filed in September compared to only four the month before. Incidents of theft followed a similar trend – 14 cases were reported in August, while 33 in September.
Responding to a query about the state of public safety, Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary to the chief adviser, at a press briefing yesterday said the government is working to restore law and order, prevent crimes and ensure thorough investigations and justice for the incidents that have occurred.
“The law enforcement agencies will take all necessary measures to address these incidents….”
Tawohidul Haque, associate professor at Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research, said, “Criminals are capitalising on the police’s weakened morale, a result of the unrest following the July movement. Also, the law enforcers’ hesitation in taking swift decisions, fearing backlash or adverse reactions, is worsening the situation.”
Speaking to The Daily Star, Md Masud Alam, deputy commissioner of Ramna Division Police, however, said, “We have already increased vigilance and patrol to ensure visible policing and prompt action.”
Around 4:00am on Monday, at least 15 to 20 young men stopped two brothers – Md Adnan, 24, and Md Siam, 22 – while they were passing by Abul Hotel in the capital’s Rampura on a motorbike. The goons beat the two with iron rods, hacked them with a machete and took away Tk 15,000 from them, sources said.
Just the day before, around four muggers attacked Ashik, a mason, at the Kalshi bus stop in Pallabi around 7:00pm. They stabbed him in the back with a knife and took away his cash and cellphone.
Amid rising criminal activities, residents of Mohammadpur, including students, demonstrated in front of the Mohammadpur Police Station on Saturday, demanding that security be stepped up immediately.
Following that, a joint operation was launched by the army, police and Rab between October 26 and 29, in which around 108 suspects were nabbed for involvement in mugging, robbery and murder incidents in the area.
On Tuesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement saying the army has been working with impartiality and professionalism to ensure overall security of public life and important government installations, maintain law and order, prevent extrajudicial activities, and uphold the rule of law.
Inspector General of Police Md Mainul Islam has directed all unit heads to strengthen ongoing special drives against various crimes — robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities — being committed by the infamous “kishore [teenager] gangs”.
He issued the directive in a special message on Monday, according to a PHQ press release.
Lt Col Md Munim Ferdous, director of the legal and media wing of Rab, told The Daily Star, “We’ve already started identifying the crime hot spots and increased patrolling and checkpoints there.
“We are also making a list of the notorious criminals and muggers, and keeping them under surveillance,” he said, adding that they have arrested 25 muggers and 33 robbers just this month.
According to Rab’s database, it has arrested 215 murder suspects from August 5 to October 29. Another 352 people were arrested on suspicion of being involved in sabotage.
Locals of different areas in the capital said thin police presence was one of the major reasons behind the rise in criminal activities.
During visits to many of these places, this correspondent found that police patrols and surveillance have not yet come back to normal, resulting in such incidents taking place one after the other.
On Tuesday night, Hasan Hawlader, 22, a human hauler driver, was fatally stabbed, while Nure Alam, 23, another driver, was left injured allegedly for speaking out against extortion in the capital’s Rampura.
Earlier around 3:30pm on Sunday, Farah Diba, 60, wife of a retired air force officer, was killed in their residence in the capital’s Mirpur DOHS, allegedly by robbers who reportedly took away Tk 15 lakh cash and 10 bhori gold.
Addressing the current situation, Enamul Haque Sagor, assistant inspector general of Police Headquarters, told this correspondent, “A special drive has been underway since October 18 to maintain law and order, and an instruction has already been issued on Monday to strengthen the drive.
As of October 27, over 200 robbers, extortionists, and criminals have been arrested across the country through the drive.
“There were some problems and the police force faced a lot of challenges after August 5. We’re now working in full swing and trying our best. Hopefully, it [the situation] will improve soon.”
source : Daily Star