Syed Shemul Parvez :
Following the fall of the Awami League government, Dhaka has experienced a significant rise in crime and lawlessness, with public anger directed towards the police force.
An enraged crowd has vandalised hundreds of police stations and set fire to police vehicles, resulting in the deaths of several officers.
Looting of police weapons has further exacerbated the already fragile situation.
While the police have attempted to restore law and order, their efforts have been largely unsuccessful in regaining full control.
The situation worsened when vandals systematically destroyed CCTV cameras on streets across Dhaka during student protests.
Despite efforts, it has not been possible to reinstall CCTV cameras in half the capital’s districts, creating a security vacuum that criminals are exploiting.
In the absence of CCTV surveillance, organised criminal gangs have intensified their activities. Crimes such as theft, robbery, and murder are being reported almost daily in various areas of the city.
Over the past few days, at least 30 small-scale robberies have occurred in Dhaka, many of which have gone unreported as victims refrained from filing complaints. Several students, NGO workers, and others have been injured in these attacks, often by robbers wielding knives.
Criminal Gangs Taking Advantage
Criminal gangs are becoming increasingly reckless. Not only are crimes being committed on public roads, but murder cases within private homes are also on the rise.
It is believed that internal conflicts within gangs are leading to a series of violent crimes, with the perpetrators attempting to shift blame onto rival factions. To obscure their identities, key criminals are reportedly hiring mercenaries from outside Dhaka to carry out their crimes.
According to senior government sources, while police officers are visible in different parts of the country, their operations remain largely restricted to police stations.
The trauma from the recent attacks on their establishments has left many officers fearful, limiting their presence on the streets.
Additionally, many police stations have been burnt down, leading to the destruction of vital documents. This has allowed local influential figures to exploit the situation, committing crimes with impunity while the masterminds behind these acts remain hidden.
Escalating Violence
On Sunday afternoon, a young man, identified as Bilsnal alias Fighter Bilsnal, was brutally hacked to death in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area.
Despite the incident occurring in the early evening, the police were not informed until late at night, when an anonymous call alerted them to a bloodied body lying in an alley.
Officers from Mohammadpur Police Station later recovered the body but struggled to identify the victim due to the destruction of police records. It wasn’t until the next morning, when the incident spread on social media, that the victim’s family identified the body at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mohammadpur Police Station, Iftekhar Hasan, confirmed the details of the incident, noting that following the attacks on the station on 5 August, all records had been destroyed.
“Bilsnal had a history of criminal activities, including drug-related offences. It is suspected he was in Mohammadpur to carry out a terrorist act, though this information remains unverified,” OC Hasan stated.
In another incident, on 27 August, a young man named Zarraf Ahmed Pritam was stabbed to death by robbers on Darussalam Road in Mirpur after being attacked while riding a rickshaw.
The assailants stole his phone, laptop, and money before killing him when he resisted. On the previous day, a university student, Md Jewel, was also stabbed by thieves in Paribagh, although bystanders, paralysed by fear, did not intervene.
Further violence ensued on 30 August, when Iftekhar Hossain Imon (24), a local leader of the Chhatra Dal, was murdered in Hazaribagh. That same day, police recovered the body of Mahfuzur Rahman Biplob (45) from the Narai River in Banashri. Biplob had been missing since the previous morning. On Saturday, the body of Mahbub (25) was found in Minabagh after he left home with his motorcycle the previous afternoon.
Government Response In response to the deteriorating law and order situation, Home Affairs Adviser, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, has urged the authorities to take decisive action against the culprits.
Addressing newly appointed police superintendents at the Ministry of Home Affairs, he stated, “Bribery and extortion are the primary sources of corruption.
Many injustices can be eliminated if these two menaces are eradicated.”
The fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August triggered widespread chaos across the country, with extensive vandalism, arson, looting, and the destruction of police establishments.
Large quantities of police weapons and ammunition were stolen in the aftermath. According to the Police Headquarters, as of 1 September, 3,880 weapons, 286,353 rounds of ammunition, 22,201 tear gas cells, and 2,139 sound grenades have been recovered.
Assistant Inspector General of Police (Media and Public Relations), Inamul Haque Sagar, told the press that operations are being conducted in coordination with intelligence agencies and other forces to restore order.
“We are confident that the ongoing campaign will be successful. Intelligence activities have been intensified nationwide for some time, and operations are being meticulously planned,” Sagar added.
As the police and government forces struggle to regain control, the people of Dhaka remain in fear, with many areas of the city still lacking the necessary surveillance and law enforcement presence to curb the rising tide of crime.