Sitting ducks
Khamin writes about the alarming increase in incidents of mugging all over Dhaka during ramadan
photo by Al-Emrun Garjon
Rehana Parvin, a housewife and resident of Gulshan, returned home shocked and traumatised on the afternoon of August 18.
Three muggers on a motorbike, who blocked her rickshaw on her way home from shopping near Nodda bazaar, fled the scene after snatching her ornaments and cellphone. However, she was in for a surprise when a policeman called her home to inform her that she can pick up her belongings from the Gulshan police station.
At the station, she learnt that following her mugging incident, Awami League MP Abdur Razzaque's jeep carrying only Mohammad Hemayetuddin, his personal bodyguard, and the jeep's driver, chased the muggers. When the jeep blocked the motorcycle's path, one of the muggers, named Badal, shot at the jeep. Hemayet returned fire striking Badal in the neck.
Badal died on spot while his companion, Sultan, was apprehended by the public, roughed up and then handed over to the police. The third criminal managed to get away.
Although Parvin happily filed the case and returned home with her belongings, most residents of Dhaka and the other cities of Bangladesh are not as fortunate as her, as incidents of mugging are alarmingly on the rise in these cities especially during the month of ramadan when almost everyone is busy shopping for clothing items, household items and even groceries.
According to the street shopkeepers in Gulshan, a week before this incident, a foreigner lost his valuables and money to muggers in the same manner.
The very next day after the Gulshan shooting, police constable Manjurul Islam was shot dead by criminals in Motijheel on the night of August 19. Manjurul was searching a rickshaw passenger just split seconds before the incident. The criminal was also shot dead by the police.
Following the incident, police shared with the media that criminal gangs were meeting up near Kamlapur station for the sale of illegal arms and decide on the territories for mugging and extortion during the 'lucrative' month of ramadan.
According to citizens and law enforcement officials, shopping malls, banks, money exchanges are the top targeted locations for muggers as most traders deal in considerable transactions with banks, financial institutions, customers, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders during this month of the year.
Muggings are rampant in areas with more numbers of shopping malls, banks, hospitals, money exchanges and other institutions. According to law enforcement sources, incidents of mugging are taking place in broad daylight in areas like Motijheel, Shahjahanpur, Agargaon, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Dhanmondi, Lalmatia, Mohammadpur, Rayerbazar, Green Road, Azimpur, Gulshan, Banani, Uttara and other areas.
Only in July, around 27 cases of mugging incidents were reported in several locations of Dhaka city according to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)'s monthly statistics. Some dailies and newspapers reported it to be around 35. However, the actual number is much more as most victims do not bother to report the incidents as they feel the police would never be able to do anything. Others, who go through the hassle of reporting the crime at the concerned police station, are usually persuaded to file a general diary that his/her items were 'lost' as opposed to 'mugged'.
'After being mugged at Road 6 near Gulshan 1 on July 17, I went to the gulshan police station to report the incident a day or so later,' says Kalimul Pasha to Xtra. 'The police officer taking the complaints and filing the general diaries asked me to file it as just "lost" and later reasoned that if I file a case, then there will be investigations resulting in a lot of hassle for me. Clearly, the police do not want to do much work for such cases. Is this the kind of service that the police are giving to victims like us? Are we paying their salaries through our taxes or are the muggers paying them?' he asks.
City-dwellers speculate that since the situation was bad last month, it is naturally going to worsen during this month as besides, the increase in business transactions, the majority of city-dwellers are likely to draw salaries and bonuses and scour the shopping malls to buy clothing items for family members.
Although the DMP and the Detective Branch (DB) are hopeful that they will be able to control the law and order situation in Dhaka city through stricter measures, the statistics available paints a grimmer picture. DMP had a list of around 900 muggers and extortionists in Dhaka city in June of this year. However, the DMP arrested only 200 criminals over the past two months, most of them being teenagers from the different gangs in the city.
After attending a lecture, on ramadan followed by iftar, at the Goethe institute in Dhanmondi on August 15, Kazi Mohsin Jaman and his wife were looking for a rickshaw to get to their house in Dhanmondi Road 6.
'As the roads are usually empty right after iftar, we began walking from Road 9 towards Road 7 and 6 across the Dhanmondi field,' shares Mohsin later with Xtra. 'The streets were extremely dark and not a pedestrian was in sight,' he adds.
Suddenly Mohsin became aware of two motorcycles, not too far behind, following them. 'Although I began looking for a safer place, I did not find any nearby and the muggers blocked our path and aimed two revolvers at us,' he recollects.
Threatening to shower him and his wife with bullets if they made a sound, the muggers snatched away their mobile phones, wallet, vanity bag and ornaments. 'Then, they ordered us to walk straight and not look back. We did as we were told,' says Mohsin.
Two days after this incident, another man was mugged near Dhanmondi 7. 'I was returning home after saying my tarabih prayers at the masjid nearby,' he says.
Shopkeepers and residents of the area inform that the muggers take advantage of the fact that the area lacks street lamps and police do not patrol this spot that regularly. Also, the area is used by most foreigners who move through it to go to the Goethe Institut, Alliance Francaise of Dhaka, Russian cultural centre and other cultural venues nearby.
'We usually do not come out on these streets after dark as we know that muggers lurk in the area,' says Masud, a 21-year-old resident at a nearby apartment building.
Law enforcement officials point out that muggers are now more organised than ever. 'They are now more creative through their plans, vehicles, in picking the spots and the times,' says a senior DMP official. 'While the criminals with low capital use motorbikes or even CNG three-wheelers, those with more experience use cars to block traffic, lock onto a particular target, carry out the operation and speed off very easily. The entire incident is over within just two to three minutes,' he says.
According to the DB police sources, around four to five incidents are occurring daily in the city, from which one to two incidents end up being very serious with the victims badly hurt.
Despite repeated DMP assurances to curb the deterioration of the law and order situation during this particular month, the law enforcing department is finding it extremely tough to follow through with their promise. 'Most of the muggers are highly professional, with some muggers hailing from well-off families. Most of them have reverted to this profession as they are no longer getting money from their families to quench their desire for drugs,' says Officer in-Charge Kamaluddin of the gulshan police station.
'Most of the muggers are floating criminals, committing crimes in one area and actually living in another area. This is one of the reason police is finding it hard to identify them,' says Assistant Police Commissioner (AC-Crime) Hasnat Nazmul Alam from DMP.
Just a day after the death of a mugger and policeman on August 19, a mugger was arrested by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 2) with bullet wounds at Agargaon. The criminal and his group were about to snatch the valuables and money of rickshaw passengers and pedestrians passing through the area during the evening.
When RAB 2 sighted the criminals, the muggers shot at the patrol. 'We returned fire and although his colleagues were able to get away, we apprehended Hannan, the wounded gang leader,' says Major Rezaul Hoque, second-in-command of RAB 2.
One local pipe gun was recovered from the mugger, against whom a murder case has already been filed with the police earlier. According to police sources, Hannan operates illegal rackets in Karwan Bazar and sometimes leads mugging operations in Agargaon.
While talking to shopkeepers at Agargaon, Mirpur, Dhanmondi and Tejgaon, this correspondent found that most of the muggers are between the ages of 18 to 22. There are also allegations that being in cahoots with most local ward commissioners, these criminals are always above the law.
'Some ward commissioners, based in Mirpur, Shewrapara and adjoining areas, indirectly support most of these criminals,' says Officer In-charge Kazi Wazed Ali of the Mirpur police station. 'Even when we catch some of these criminals red-handed, they are bailed out by their senior brothers, the commissioners,' he says.
'Everyday, news about mugging, snatching, innocent people being shot and so on are being published in the dailies and aired on the television channels,' says businessman Shafayet Islam to Xtra. 'If this condition prevails, we would not be able to move freely in the city anymore,' he adds. He expresses further concern that if the law and order situation is this bad during ramadan, what would the scenario be on the week of Eid when half of Dhaka city will be empty.
'It is true that the mugger gangs are operating in the cities in a planned manner during ramadan and with Eid in mind,' says Rezaul. 'But we are increasing our patrols. We have already arrested nine muggers in the last ten days,' he informs.
The DB of police informs Xtra that to thwart the prowess of these gangs, they have already set up male and female police forces in civil dresses. 'These officials will be patrolling different hot spots and crowded areas of the city during ramadan,' says Assistant Commissioner Russel Sheikh from the Public relations department of DB.
Three muggers on a motorbike, who blocked her rickshaw on her way home from shopping near Nodda bazaar, fled the scene after snatching her ornaments and cellphone. However, she was in for a surprise when a policeman called her home to inform her that she can pick up her belongings from the Gulshan police station.
At the station, she learnt that following her mugging incident, Awami League MP Abdur Razzaque's jeep carrying only Mohammad Hemayetuddin, his personal bodyguard, and the jeep's driver, chased the muggers. When the jeep blocked the motorcycle's path, one of the muggers, named Badal, shot at the jeep. Hemayet returned fire striking Badal in the neck.
Badal died on spot while his companion, Sultan, was apprehended by the public, roughed up and then handed over to the police. The third criminal managed to get away.
Although Parvin happily filed the case and returned home with her belongings, most residents of Dhaka and the other cities of Bangladesh are not as fortunate as her, as incidents of mugging are alarmingly on the rise in these cities especially during the month of ramadan when almost everyone is busy shopping for clothing items, household items and even groceries.
According to the street shopkeepers in Gulshan, a week before this incident, a foreigner lost his valuables and money to muggers in the same manner.
The very next day after the Gulshan shooting, police constable Manjurul Islam was shot dead by criminals in Motijheel on the night of August 19. Manjurul was searching a rickshaw passenger just split seconds before the incident. The criminal was also shot dead by the police.
Following the incident, police shared with the media that criminal gangs were meeting up near Kamlapur station for the sale of illegal arms and decide on the territories for mugging and extortion during the 'lucrative' month of ramadan.
According to citizens and law enforcement officials, shopping malls, banks, money exchanges are the top targeted locations for muggers as most traders deal in considerable transactions with banks, financial institutions, customers, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders during this month of the year.
Muggings are rampant in areas with more numbers of shopping malls, banks, hospitals, money exchanges and other institutions. According to law enforcement sources, incidents of mugging are taking place in broad daylight in areas like Motijheel, Shahjahanpur, Agargaon, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Dhanmondi, Lalmatia, Mohammadpur, Rayerbazar, Green Road, Azimpur, Gulshan, Banani, Uttara and other areas.
Only in July, around 27 cases of mugging incidents were reported in several locations of Dhaka city according to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)'s monthly statistics. Some dailies and newspapers reported it to be around 35. However, the actual number is much more as most victims do not bother to report the incidents as they feel the police would never be able to do anything. Others, who go through the hassle of reporting the crime at the concerned police station, are usually persuaded to file a general diary that his/her items were 'lost' as opposed to 'mugged'.
'After being mugged at Road 6 near Gulshan 1 on July 17, I went to the gulshan police station to report the incident a day or so later,' says Kalimul Pasha to Xtra. 'The police officer taking the complaints and filing the general diaries asked me to file it as just "lost" and later reasoned that if I file a case, then there will be investigations resulting in a lot of hassle for me. Clearly, the police do not want to do much work for such cases. Is this the kind of service that the police are giving to victims like us? Are we paying their salaries through our taxes or are the muggers paying them?' he asks.
City-dwellers speculate that since the situation was bad last month, it is naturally going to worsen during this month as besides, the increase in business transactions, the majority of city-dwellers are likely to draw salaries and bonuses and scour the shopping malls to buy clothing items for family members.
Although the DMP and the Detective Branch (DB) are hopeful that they will be able to control the law and order situation in Dhaka city through stricter measures, the statistics available paints a grimmer picture. DMP had a list of around 900 muggers and extortionists in Dhaka city in June of this year. However, the DMP arrested only 200 criminals over the past two months, most of them being teenagers from the different gangs in the city.
After attending a lecture, on ramadan followed by iftar, at the Goethe institute in Dhanmondi on August 15, Kazi Mohsin Jaman and his wife were looking for a rickshaw to get to their house in Dhanmondi Road 6.
'As the roads are usually empty right after iftar, we began walking from Road 9 towards Road 7 and 6 across the Dhanmondi field,' shares Mohsin later with Xtra. 'The streets were extremely dark and not a pedestrian was in sight,' he adds.
Suddenly Mohsin became aware of two motorcycles, not too far behind, following them. 'Although I began looking for a safer place, I did not find any nearby and the muggers blocked our path and aimed two revolvers at us,' he recollects.
Threatening to shower him and his wife with bullets if they made a sound, the muggers snatched away their mobile phones, wallet, vanity bag and ornaments. 'Then, they ordered us to walk straight and not look back. We did as we were told,' says Mohsin.
Two days after this incident, another man was mugged near Dhanmondi 7. 'I was returning home after saying my tarabih prayers at the masjid nearby,' he says.
Shopkeepers and residents of the area inform that the muggers take advantage of the fact that the area lacks street lamps and police do not patrol this spot that regularly. Also, the area is used by most foreigners who move through it to go to the Goethe Institut, Alliance Francaise of Dhaka, Russian cultural centre and other cultural venues nearby.
'We usually do not come out on these streets after dark as we know that muggers lurk in the area,' says Masud, a 21-year-old resident at a nearby apartment building.
Law enforcement officials point out that muggers are now more organised than ever. 'They are now more creative through their plans, vehicles, in picking the spots and the times,' says a senior DMP official. 'While the criminals with low capital use motorbikes or even CNG three-wheelers, those with more experience use cars to block traffic, lock onto a particular target, carry out the operation and speed off very easily. The entire incident is over within just two to three minutes,' he says.
According to the DB police sources, around four to five incidents are occurring daily in the city, from which one to two incidents end up being very serious with the victims badly hurt.
Despite repeated DMP assurances to curb the deterioration of the law and order situation during this particular month, the law enforcing department is finding it extremely tough to follow through with their promise. 'Most of the muggers are highly professional, with some muggers hailing from well-off families. Most of them have reverted to this profession as they are no longer getting money from their families to quench their desire for drugs,' says Officer in-Charge Kamaluddin of the gulshan police station.
'Most of the muggers are floating criminals, committing crimes in one area and actually living in another area. This is one of the reason police is finding it hard to identify them,' says Assistant Police Commissioner (AC-Crime) Hasnat Nazmul Alam from DMP.
Just a day after the death of a mugger and policeman on August 19, a mugger was arrested by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 2) with bullet wounds at Agargaon. The criminal and his group were about to snatch the valuables and money of rickshaw passengers and pedestrians passing through the area during the evening.
When RAB 2 sighted the criminals, the muggers shot at the patrol. 'We returned fire and although his colleagues were able to get away, we apprehended Hannan, the wounded gang leader,' says Major Rezaul Hoque, second-in-command of RAB 2.
One local pipe gun was recovered from the mugger, against whom a murder case has already been filed with the police earlier. According to police sources, Hannan operates illegal rackets in Karwan Bazar and sometimes leads mugging operations in Agargaon.
While talking to shopkeepers at Agargaon, Mirpur, Dhanmondi and Tejgaon, this correspondent found that most of the muggers are between the ages of 18 to 22. There are also allegations that being in cahoots with most local ward commissioners, these criminals are always above the law.
'Some ward commissioners, based in Mirpur, Shewrapara and adjoining areas, indirectly support most of these criminals,' says Officer In-charge Kazi Wazed Ali of the Mirpur police station. 'Even when we catch some of these criminals red-handed, they are bailed out by their senior brothers, the commissioners,' he says.
'Everyday, news about mugging, snatching, innocent people being shot and so on are being published in the dailies and aired on the television channels,' says businessman Shafayet Islam to Xtra. 'If this condition prevails, we would not be able to move freely in the city anymore,' he adds. He expresses further concern that if the law and order situation is this bad during ramadan, what would the scenario be on the week of Eid when half of Dhaka city will be empty.
'It is true that the mugger gangs are operating in the cities in a planned manner during ramadan and with Eid in mind,' says Rezaul. 'But we are increasing our patrols. We have already arrested nine muggers in the last ten days,' he informs.
The DB of police informs Xtra that to thwart the prowess of these gangs, they have already set up male and female police forces in civil dresses. 'These officials will be patrolling different hot spots and crowded areas of the city during ramadan,' says Assistant Commissioner Russel Sheikh from the Public relations department of DB.
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