Syed Shemul Parvez :
Citizens in the capital as well as others parts of the country continue to experience a worsening law and order situation as regular activities in the police force have not yet fully restored over three month after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5.
Sources concerned said this situation has led to a rise in the incidents of snatching, muggings, robberies, killings and vandalising of factories in the different parts of the country.
As a result, general people particularly those living in the capital are worried about their safety of lives and properties.
Legal practitioners said most victims of the incidents of robbery are not taking police support. Even they are not going for opening any GD (general diary) or litigation.
Victims said that they did not resort to the police to avoid troubles and unnecessary harassments. Many victims favour filing direct cases with the concerned police stations against the acts of theft, robbery and snatching.
But police are of the opinion that it is difficult to bring the criminals under the law without GD-cases. Identifying criminals without GD is a very difficult task, the said.
However, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has already decided that action will be taken against the policemen in charge of the areas
where more thefts and robberies would take place.
According to a recent statement by the DMP media wing, at least 29 robberies, 183 snatching, 460 murders, 87 abduction and over 500 thefts incidents have been occurred since the January 2024 to October this year.
Besides, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has initiated a special check post operation aimed at maintaining law and order across the Dhaka city.
Following the directives of DMP Commissioner Md Mainul Hasan, these operations will take place at various key locations to combat illegal activities, including the recovery of weapons, drugs, and stolen goods, as well as to prevent robbery.
According to an earlier report of the DMP, the highest number of snatching and dacoits were committed in Mohammadpur, Shahbagh, Bhatara and Sherbanglanagar police station areas.
And the least number of robbers and dacoits are listed in Dakshin Khan, Uttara Khan and Uttara Purba Thana areas.
In 2022, there were 165 robberies and 1,603 thefts incidents in DMP. A total of 1343 incidents occurred in 2021. In 2020, there were 176 cases of robbery, 1,217 cases of theft.
As of April 2023, there were 44 cases of robbery and 486 cases of theft.
Regarding the recent law and order situation of the capital, Talebur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of DMP Media, told The New Nation that apart from controlling law and order, the policemen of 50 police stations of the capital, as well as the members of various intelligence agencies, are engaged in collecting various information.
The DMP police officers themselves are very much concerned about the robberies in the capital at night, especially in the early the morning.
However, overall situation of the city at the moment is comparatively better than that of the last couple of months.
Hopefully within a short time the total law and order situation will be brought under control, he added.
In this issue, Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam said that the country’s law and order situation has improved slightly, but it is still not satisfactory and more improvement is needed.
On the night of October 18, a student named Shiblul Haque of Jahangirnagar University was robbed at a place adjacent to Mogbazar railway crossing on his way home from Kamalapur station.
On October 19, a DMP constable named Zubair Hossain Alock was robbed in Shahjahanpur area of the capital.
The miscreants stole a pair of gold earrings, a gold chain and 11,000 taka in cash from the drawer of the house’s cupboard and fled.
In this regards, RAB Legal and Media Wing Director Lt. Colonel Munim Chowdhury said, ‘the elite force RAB is working to control any type of crime in the society.
In the last couple of weeks, at least 50 criminal including 33 dacoits and 22 snatchers have been detained by the elite force RAB, he added.
Dhaka University Social Welfare and Research Institute Assistant Professor and Crime expert Dr. Touhidul Haque said, “Currently, there are more incidents of theft, snatching and robbery in the capital.
The reason for the sudden increase is that law enforcement is currently going through a special situation. I am not noticing the patrol activity that was earlier.
Law and order forces should play a stronger role in reducing these crimes.
