Alarming increase in crimes, killings
Bangladesh is witnessing a surge in crimes, with 11 killings and at least 50 robberies reported to the police a day on an average from across the country.
Worried rights activists said the trend indicated a serious deterioration in law and order, with the possibility of not all the crimes reported or registered.
According to police statistics, 2,656 homicides occurred across the country in the first eight months of 2010.
The capital city's last reported homicide took place on Tuesday when assailants strangled a youth at West Tejturi Bazaar at Tejgaon.
The inspector general of police, Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, told New Age that recently killings over property disputes among family members rose sharply in the city causing extra worries.
'We are concerned about increased killings over property disputes,' he said.
'The police cannot ignore its responsibility in curbing such crimes,' he said.
He said that he asked the police force to strengthen vigilance to curb killings, muggings and other crimes across the country.
The home affairs minister, Sahara Khatun, however, said on Wednesday that the law and order across the country had been steadily improving ever since the Awami League-led government came to power in January 2009.
But human rights activists described the law order as 'far from satisfactory'.
The government and law enforcement officials, however, do not consider the situation 'so worrying'.
Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary general of Odhikar, a human rights watchdog, told New Age, 'The gap between law enforcement agencies and mass people are widening day by day, with law and order monitoring weakening.'
He said, 'Criminals remain beyond the reach of law due to alleged patronisation of god fathers by political leaders.'
Following a rise in crimes, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benjir Ahmed told New Age, 'Police and different intelligence agencies have been deployed to patrol the city streets round the clock'
He said, 'We have geared up our efforts to ensure security of the city dwellers.'
The first eight months of 2010, saw rampant killings, a spate in extortions over phone, muggings, robberies and drug peddling.
During the period, the activities of the outlawed groups in the southwestern region also increased causing worries among the people.
Incidents of extortion over phone and by sending letters have increased over past few weeks.
Newspaper reports show that in a number of incidents, the gangsters shot at the security guards or employees of their targeted persons after they had refused to pay.
Intelligence sources said criminals who reportedly enjoy the patronage of some local ruling party leaders have formed small bands to carry out their criminal activities.
The police said teenage youths, not on the police list of criminals, were often caught committing crimes like extortion, abduction and mugging.
In Chittagong, a mob beat two youths to death while they were allegedly committing burglary at a toy shop at Amtol under Kotwali police station on Saturday morning.
On Friday four senior citizens, two of them housewives, were killed in the city in separate incidents at Dakkhin Banasree, Shah Ali neighbourhood at Mirpur, Kafrul and Kamrangirchar on Friday. The police suspects that they were killed by relations who eyed their property.
Since June 25, Dhaka City Corporation Ward Commissioner and BNP leader, Chowdhury Alam has been missing since he was abducted from Farm Gate in the city.
Despite repeated complaints from his family and the opposition BNP the law enforcement agencies failed to give any satisfactory answer on his disappearance.
If an influential ward commissioner like him could disappear just like this from a busy city locality, not far from an important police station, what security the average citizens could expect, asked rights activists. For its proximity to parliament and VIP zones, the spot from where he disappeared, they said, is supposed to be under constant scanner of the law enforcement agencies.
On October 15, robbers snatched a submachine gun and 30 rounds of ammunition from a police constable in Khulna after severely injuring him in the head with a sharp weapon.
On October 14, two young people were killed in the city's Old Town and at Kamalapur.
On October 8, Boraigram upazila chairman and an important BNP leader in Natore Sanaullah Nur Babu, was beaten to death and 30 others, including four journalists, were seriously injured allegedly by the activists of Awami League at Bonpara in the district.
On October 11, a mob in Sirajganj torched an intercity train at Bangabandhu Bridge West Station on Monday after it ran into a crowd of people standing on the track beside Khaleda Zia's rally venue near Mulibari level crossing leaving five dead and several others injured.
On September 30, three persons of an influential family, a businessman, his wife and mother were brutally murdered at Jatrabari in the city in the morning.
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