Dhaka plunges into lawlessness
The country is in the grip of a deepening security crisis. Within the span of forty-eight hours, the country has been confronted with two horrific crimes against children, multiple extortion-linked killings, and the arrest of individuals accused of demanding crores of taka in protection money – a convergence of violence that has provoked rare public fury and renewed demands for accountability from the government.
The case that has most galvanised public outrage concerns Ramisa Akter, an eight-year-old second-grade student, who was raped and murdered in Section-11 of Pallabi, Mirpur, on Tuesday. Her body was discovered by her mother and neighbours inside a flat in the same five-storey building where her family lived – her head severed and placed inside a bucket in the bedroom.
On Wednesday, the prime accused, Sohel Rana, appeared before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid and recorded a confessional statement. He was subsequently ordered to jail.
His wife, Swapna Akter – who was found standing in the room when the body was discovered and had been arrested first – was also sent to jail by a separate magistrate.
According to case documents filed by Ramisa’s father, Abdul Hannan Molla, at Pallabi Police Station, Sohel and Swapna lured Ramisa into their third-floor flat at around 9:30 AM while she was leaving for school.
Roughly an hour later, when her mother went looking for her, she found the flat locked and eventually forced entry with other residents – only to discover the child’s body. Sohel Rana was later apprehended from Fatullah in Narayanganj.
‘Humanity is ashamed,’ said Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, Ameer, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, in a Facebook post yesterday reacting to Ramisa’s murder.
Second child death – madrasa student found in Banasree Even as the nation was reeling from Ramisa’s killing, a second devastating case emerged.
Around 11:30 PM on Tuesday, the body of Abdullah, a ten-year-old student enrolled in the Hifz department of Alokito Quran International Hifzu Madrasa in Block C, Banasree, Rampura, was found hanging by a towel in the institution’s bathroom.
Sub-Inspector Md. Saiful Islam of Rampura Police Station confirmed that while the death initially appeared to be a suicide by hanging, a physical examination revealed abnormal signs consistent with sexual assault. The body was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue on Wednesday morning for autopsy. A conclusive cause of death is pending the autopsy report.
Abdullah was the son of Abul Kalam Azad of Sadar Upazila, Chapainawabganj. His father is currently working abroad; madrasa authorities informed him of his son’s death by phone. Investigators have not yet announced any arrests in connection with the case.
Opposition demands Home Minister’s resignation
The cascade of violence drew a sharp political response on Wednesday. At a protest rally organised by Jamaat-e-Islami’s Dhaka Metropolitan unit at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, the party’s Secretary General, Mia Golam Parwar, called on Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed to step down, saying that ministers who fail their citizens in other countries resign – whereas Bangladesh’s ministers deflect and assign blame.
Golam Parwar alleged that ruling party activists were responsible for a significant portion of the murders, rapes, terrorism, and extortion occurring across the country, and accused the government of having taken no serious steps to suppress these crimes. “As long as a culture of impunity persists, the trend of social crime cannot be controlled,” he warned.
“If the existence of ordinary people is threatened, the government’s own existence may come under threa,” said Mia Golam Parwar, Secretary General, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
He also cited a viral audio clip, which he claimed featured a BNP leader instructing someone to procure young women, as evidence that no woman or child was safe under the current government – and noted that neither the government nor the BNP had taken any legal or disciplinary action over the incident.
Jamaat Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, the parliamentary opposition leader, separately expressed grief and fury over Ramisa’s killing in a post on his verified Facebook page, describing it as an act that had shamed humanity and demanding exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.
DMP Commissioner pledges zero tolerance
On the same day, the newly appointed Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, faced the press at the DMP Media Centre and announced a zero tolerance policy against snatching and extortion in the capital. He said no leniency would be shown to criminals regardless of their affiliations, and warned that road volunteers active since August 5 who harass ordinary citizens would also not be tolerated.
The Commissioner confirmed that police had compiled lists of teenage gang members, many of whom had been arrested, with operations continuing to round up the rest. He said senior criminals released on bail after August 5 who had returned to criminal activity were being targeted in sweeping crackdowns.
Ahead of Eid ul-Adha, he said maximum security would be deployed at cattle markets, shopping centres, bus terminals, launch terminals, and railway stations. Detective Branch and local police have been put on alert against drugging gangs, pickpockets, and counterfeit currency operators. Citizens were urged to use bank transfers rather than carry large sums of cash, and to call the emergency number 999 to report crimes including snatching, extortion, or gang activity.
The Directorate of Narcotics Control has also issued a public warning against a self-styled organisation accused of running extortion and blackmail rackets, adding to a growing list of criminal networks that law enforcement says it is actively pursuing.
Whether these commitments translate into a sustained reversal of the crime wave – or remain another round of official reassurances – is a question an increasingly alarmed public is watching closely.
