Law and order ‘completely collapsed’
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar delivered a stark assessment of the country’s security situation on Sunday, declaring that law and order had “completely collapsed” and accusing BNP activists of a pattern of attacks on hospitals, healthcare centres and private businesses, backed in some cases by attempts to seize property and extort money.
In a statement, Porwar condemned three separate incidents in quick succession: the vandalism at Islami Bank Specialised and General Hospital in Nayapaltan, the attack and demolition of the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1, and the attack and looting at the studio of content creator and July Uprising activist Salman Muqtadir. He demanded the immediate arrest of everyone responsible
across all three cases.
Porwar’s account of the Radda incident added new detail to the narrative already circulating through civil society statements.
He alleged that BNP activists, acting with the backing of a female MP, tied up the facility’s security guards before attacking, vandalising and looting the centre on Friday night, September 25.
He said a signboard was subsequently installed at the site – a move he characterized as a deliberate attempt to seize control of a healthcare facility that served the public.
He called the episode nothing short of an occupation attempt and urged that those involved face justice.
Turning to the attack on Salman Muqtadir’s studio at Newgrini Properties in the ECB area, Porwar said BNP activists arrived on the night of September 26 carrying machetes and axes, vandalising equipment and looting valuables from the premises.
Citing media reports, he linked the assault to an underlying land dispute between two rival groups, alleging that BNP activists had targeted the studio as part of that broader conflict rather than as an isolated act of vandalism.
Porwar also detailed a third incident at Islami Bank Specialised and General Hospital in Nayapaltan, which he said was attacked on Saturday afternoon.
He alleged that a group led by Jubo Dal and Swechchhasebak Dal leaders identified as Lyon and Farhad gathered outside the hospital before vandalising glass panels and CCTV cameras and assaulting reception staff. He called for those responsible to be identified and arrested without delay.
Beyond cataloguing the individual incidents, Porwar used his statement to raise pointed questions about the administration’s handling of the unrest, describing its response as increasingly questionable and, in the case of the Radda centre attack, “mysterious.”
The remark echoed concerns raised separately by Transparency International Bangladesh, which had alleged that police were present during the Radda incident but did not intervene.
Porwar urged the authorities to take strict measures to restore public safety and protect stability, and specifically called for strengthened security around private businesses, hospitals and healthcare facilities going forward.
He warned that attacks on and attempted takeovers of private hospitals and health centres were raising fresh alarm at a moment when the government’s health sector was already struggling to deliver basic services to citizens.
The Jamaat leader’s statement adds a distinct political dimension to a controversy that has, over recent days, drawn condemnation from multiple quarters – including Transparency International Bangladesh, the Human Rights Support Society, and the National Citizen Party, whose spokesperson visited the Radda centre in person on Sunday.
While those organisations largely framed the incidents as symptomatic of encroachment, extortion and impunity spreading through sections of the ruling party, Porwar’s remarks went further in tone, casting the episodes as evidence of a broader breakdown in law and order under the current administration.
