February 25, 2025
DHAKA – Dhaka residents spent a frightful night yesterday as multiple incidents of muggings took place across different parts of the capital in a short span of time.
A sense of insecurity has been prevailing among people amid a spate of crimes, as reported by various media outlets over the last few days.
Yesterday, many took to social media to express their anger over the law enforcement failure as videos of miscreants attacking residents with guns and cleavers went viral.
“What exactly are you [government] doing?” asked a Facebook user.
“Muggings continue to go up and no one is taking action,” said another.
Comments like these flooded Facebook last night.
The videos show groups of people, mostly on motorcycles, intercept individuals in dark alleys and attack them indiscriminately, snatching their belongings and then fleeing.
Meanwhile, several hundred protesters gathered at Dhaka University around 1:00am today, demanding immediate resignation of the home adviser for what they said were his inaction and failure to curb crimes.
The Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in a hurriedly called press conference at three in the morning blamed cohorts of the Awami League for deteriorating law and order.
The government launched “Operation Devil Hunt” on February 8 to restore law and order, but there has been little reflection on the ground.
Against this backdrop, students across the country took to the streets yesterday, outraged by the “government’s inaction” amid a series of incidents of rape and sexual violence against women and children.
Nazmul Limon, an undergraduate student of anthropology at Jahangirnagar University, said at a demonstration, “The government must ensure public safety and good governance. If the home affairs adviser cannot protect people’s lives and property, he should quit. Otherwise, we will make sure that he does.”
Shatabdeeka Urmi, a student of Bangla at Jagannath University, said, “Every morning, I wake up and see news of rape, robbery, and murder that make me feel unsafe as a citizen…. If the government fails, it should admit its incompetence and step down.”
At least four incidents of muggings, robberies and attempted rape took place yesterday.
In Rampura, armed robbers shot a man before snatching a bag containing gold ornaments and cash in the capital’s Rampura.
The incident took place around 10:30pm on Road 7, Block D, in Banasree.
The victim, Anwar Hossain, 43, is a jewellery shop owner, police said, adding that he was carrying 200 bhori of gold ornaments and Tk 1 lakh in cash.
Ataur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Rampura Police Station, said Anwar was attacked in front of his house when he was returning home from his shop.
Shot in both legs, he was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the OC said.
Anwar Hossain told reporters at Dhaka Medical College Hospital that seven armed robbers on three motorcycles stopped him and tried to snatch his bag. When he resisted, one of the robbers shot him and fled with the bag on their bikes.
Police are trying to identify and arrest the criminals, the OC added.
In Dhanmondi’s Shankar, panic spread around 7:00pm when 12-15 “unidentified men” were spotted near Shankar Ali Hussain High School, said Saiful Islam, OC of Hazaribagh Police Station.
They came from Mohammadpur, said Hazaribagh OC Saiful Islam.
At that time, a muezzin alerted locals of an approaching “kishore gang” using a mosque’s loudspeaker. The muezzin claimed the gang members were carrying locally-made weapons.
As the information spread, the youths fled before police arrived at the spot, said the officer.
Two days ago, community leaders in Shankar decided to alert residents whenever any teen gangs would come to the area.
In Ashulia, TV actor Azizur Rahman Azad got shot while his mother and wife were injured in an attack by unidentified men at his residence, said the family members.
Azad’s elder sister Afrina Akhter said around 2:45am, Azad heard some unusual sounds from the kitchen on the first floor. When he went there, three unidentified miscreants opened fire at him. Three bullets hit Azad’s legs.
“Hearing the gunfire, my mother and Azad’s wife rushed to the kitchen, the criminals beat them up too, fired 10-15 blanks, and fled the scene without looting anything,” she also said.
The victims were later admitted to a private hospital in Dhaka.
Police are looking into the incident, said OC Nur Alam Siddique of Ashulia Police Station.
Around 12:20am today, footage of muggers robbing two women travelling in a rickshaw did the rounds on Facebook. The caption mentioned that the incident happened in Mohammadpur.
Inspector Hafizur Rahman of Mohammadpur Police Station said, “We heard about the incident, but we don’t know exactly where in Mohammadpur the crime happened.”
Duty officers at both Adabor and Mohammadpur police stations said most of the senior officers were patrolling the streets as of around 3:00am.
In Badda, a security guard was arrested on charges of “attempted rape” of a seven-year-old girl.
The arrestee is Sabuj Ahmed, 53, said police.
Sabuj, is a resident of Anandanagar, said Badda Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam.
The incident took place around 4:30pm on DIT Road in Merul Badda.
Quoting locals, the OC said the security guard of the building lured the victim to his room and tried to rape the child.
At that time, locals detained and beat Sabuj before handing him over to police.
The victim’s mother filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act with the Badda Police Station, said the OC.
HOME ADVISER’S PRESS BRIEFING
At the press briefing at his Baridhara home, the home adviser said the government was aware of the law-and-order situation.
Cohorts of the Awami League regime are trying to destabilise the country by any means. “But we will not let it happen. All forces will resist it.”
He said the ousted AL members are now using the huge amount of money they gained through corruption to create unrest in the country.
“I instructed law enforcement agencies to beef up their patrolling so that no such incidents happen from tomorrow [today] onwards. If the law enforcement agencies do not execute my order, we will take action against the officers concerned.
“Law and order situation will not further deteriorate, rather it will improve,” he said.
Responding to a query about the demand for his resignation, the home boss said, “They want improvement of law and order and if I can ensure that, there will be no question about my resignation.
“Law and order situation has largely improved and it will improve further. From today, you will see the improvement,” he said.