The nation has weathered a year of significantly heightened criminal activity, with a volatile law and order situation persisting even as the 13th parliamentary election draws near.
After the fall of Awami regime on 5 August 2024, mob attacks on police stations, outposts, and officers left law enforcement agencies decimated. Most firearms looted from police stations have not been recovered. Many criminals who escaped from prisons have not been recaptured.
Police are gradually trying to regain their footing, but for many, professionalism is yet to return.
From top officers to inspectors, everyone is looking towards the election. The force is exhausted from frequent transfers. Many offices are struggling to find sources in their new posts, which in turn is allowing criminals to stay one step ahead.
RAB is busy with patrols and routine work. The Detective Branch is conducting regular operations, but the CID is occupied with money laundering investigations. The specialised units Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime (CTTC) and Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) are moving at a slow pace.
Human rights organisations have expressed concerns over the overall law and order situation on multiple occasions. Experts believe the overall law and order atmosphere over the past year has not improved to the level desired by the people.
Former inspector general of police (IGP) Mohammad Nurul Huda told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Maintaining a normal law and order situation is now a major challenge. This national election is being organised under circumstances that are more difficult than any previous time.
“After the July uprising, the police remain somewhat subdued. If this situation cannot be resolved, keeping peace during poll time will be difficult. Activities of professional criminals increase during elections. Therefore, the police and law enforcement agencies must be more vigilant.”
At a discussion meeting on 21 May, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Taskeen Ahmed claimed that due to recent obstacles such as an unsafe environment, extortion, fraudulent online activities, goods transport risks, and forgery, businesses are losing confidence in trade and investment.
Harassed by land-grabbing and extortion, the business community has not received satisfactory responses even after staging demonstrations at various government offices.
The activities of freed top terrorists, menace of juvenile gangs, cross-border smuggling, drug trade, vandalism of mausoleums, attacks on bauls, mob violence, attacks on police, murders, muggings, extortion, frivolous lawsuits and arrests, among various other incidents, kept the law-and-order atmosphere volatile throughout the year.
The role of law enforcement agencies in tackling criminal activities across the country, including in the capital, has raised questions.
Operation Devil Hunt started and ended without much fanfare. When questions arose about the overall law and order situation following the shooting of Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Osman Hadi, Operation Devil Hunt-2 was initiated.
According to police headquarters data, 4,232 individuals have been arrested (as of 18 December) during this joint force operation. However, despite the ongoing operation, there is no indication of the situation improving.
According to police and prison department data, during the July uprising last year, 2,250 inmates escaped from various prisons. Later, 1,550 were arrested or surrendered. About 700 remain fugitive.
Among them, nearly 100 are convicted. The others were remanded in murder, drug, and anti-terrorism cases.
During that time, 5,763 firearms were looted in attacks on various police stations and outposts across the country. So far, 4,423 firearms have been recovered, but 1,340 weapons are still missing.
The government has announced a reward for information leading to these weapons.
Dr Md Tawohidul Haque, associate professor at Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research, and an expert on society and crime, said, “It is essential to bring the law-and-order situation under control, recover illegal arms, arrest professional criminals, and check firearms.
“Otherwise, the situation will continue to deteriorate.”
No shortage of brutality, violence
Osman Hadi, a prospective independent candidate for Dhaka-8, was shot in the capital’s Purana Paltan area. He later died in Singapore while undergoing treatment, triggering countrywide condemnation and protests.
Prior to this, BNP candidate for Chattogram-8, Ershad Ullah, and two others were shot, with one killed. A clash between BNP and Jamaat in Ishwardi has created unrest in the political arena.
On 24 December, Siam Majumder, a 21-year-old man, died after a cocktail thrown from the Moghbazar flyover landed on his head. The police have yet to identify who threw the explosive.
In May last year, Gulshan Thana BNP joint convener Kamrul Ahsan Sadhan was shot dead in Badda’s Gudaraghat area.
On the night of 19 May, a young man named Shaheen, 30, was shot dead in the Savar Bank Colony area.
On 18 May, a 2-minute 6-second video of BNP worker Saif Hossain Munna being hacked in broad daylight on Central Road under New Market police station went viral on social media.
In the early hours of 15 May, a man named Rakib was killed in a mob beating after participating in an armed snatching in broad daylight in the Bosila Housing City area in the capital’s Mohammadpur.
On 22 April, criminals shot and killed a businessman named Suman Molla, 28, in broad daylight in the Jamira Piprail area of Phultala upazila, Khulna.
On the afternoon of 25 February, a group of miscreants attacked police personnel in broad daylight in Dhaka’s Kawran Bazar railway line area and snatched away a drug peddler. Three policemen were injured.
In April last year, 16,368 cases were filed across the country for various crimes. This included 336 murder cases. In February, 13,002 cases were filed across the country, including 300 murder cases.
In January, 14,572 cases were filed nationwide for different crimes, including 294 murder cases, 171 robbery, and 105 abduction cases. In the first 24 days of May, 23 incidents of attacks on police occurred across the country.
Across the 50 thanas of DMP, 1,791 cases were filed in January, 1,566 in February, 1,754 in March, and 1,547 in April for various crimes.
Scrap metal trader Lal Chand alias Sohag, 39, was killed brutally on 9 July in front of Mitford Hospital in the capital. Miscreants beat Sohag to death, using bricks and stones to crush his head and body. Video of the horrific killing went viral on social media.
On the night of 19 October, Jagannath University student Jobayed became the victim of a love triangle in Armanitola, Old Dhaka.
On 8 December, domestic worker Ayesha Akter stabbed to death Laila Afroz, 48, and her daughter, ninth-grade student Nafisa Lawal Binte Azia, 15, in a residential building on Shahjahan Road, Mohammadpur.
On the night of 7 October, miscreants shot dead businessman Imran Munshi in the Custom Ghat area of Khulna city.
On the night of 5 October, Cox’s Bazar’s Jhilongja Union BNP general secretary Liakat Ali was seriously injured by miscreants’ bullets.
On 30 September, a young man named Tanvir Hasan Shubho was shot at his home in Khulna’s Daulatpur area. He later died while undergoing treatment.
On 18 September, terrorists shot contractor Rajib Chowdhury in Raozan, Chattogram, for not paying a Tk 10 lakh extortion demand. On 16 September, miscreants shot up the home of Khulna district BNP Member Secretary Sheikh Abu Hossain Babu.
Attackers also hurled cocktails. On 11 September, two individuals were shot in a clash between two terrorist groups in Dhaka’s Shahjahanpur area. On the night of 10 September, three policemen were injured by miscreants’ bullets in Kalarmarchara area of Moheshkhali island, Cox’s Bazar.
On 5 September, a clash occurred between two BNP factions in Mollakandi union of Munshiganj Sadar. Eight people were shot in this incident.
After 22 years in prison, extremist leader Shahadat Hossain was killed on 13 August after being released on bail and living a normal life. Disheartened by the killing, his family refused to file a case.
On 11 July, expelled Juba Dal leader Mahbubur Rahman Molla was shot and had his leg tendons cut in front of his house in Maheshwar Pasha West Para.
On 4 October, Additional Assistant Superintendent of Police Shamim Anwar was seriously injured in an attack by terrorists in Narsingdi’s Arshinagar area, for opposing extortion.
On 4 October, in Shibganj, Bogura, supporters of Awami League leader Rezzakul Islam attacked police after his arrest and snatched him away along with handcuffs.
On 7 October, in Sonagazi, Feni, when police went to arrest two accused individuals, they were attacked, and a walkie-talkie and a shotgun were snatched; six police members were injured.
On 29 September, in Narsingdi, a clash between two Juba Dal groups over establishing dominance, sand extraction, and land grabbing resulted in the death of union Juba Dal joint convener Sadek Mia. Three others were injured.
In the early hours of 17 September, BNP worker Idan Miah was killed in a clash between two groups in the same area. The next day, a woman named Ferdousi Begum died after being shot. On 7 October, BNP worker Abdul Hakim was killed in a shooting on the Chattogram-Kaptai road.
Thirty-eight people have been killed in Khulna in the last 14 months. In the last three months, 13 murder incidents occurred in Rangpur.
A staggering 899 crimes were committed in those three months.
On 6 December, in Taraganj, Rangpur, a man named Morsalin brutally killed retired headteacher and freedom fighter Jogesh Chandra Roy, 70, and his wife Subarna Roy, 60, with an axe.
DMP data states that in the first ten months of this year, until 18 November, nearly 200 murders were committed in Dhaka city alone. This averages about 19-20 homicides per month in the capital.
Compared to the total number of murders in previous years, this year saw 30-35 more killings in just 10 months.
