Our newspaper has shed light on how places in and around the flyovers and foot over-bridges in the capital have become a safe haven for criminals where incidents of snatching, kidnapping and other organized crimes are being committing frequently. Prostitution and drug peddling is also on the rise due to lack of vigilance of law enforcers. The reports stated that city flyovers in Khilgaon, Mohakhali, Jatrabari, Babubazar and Kuril are highly vulnerable to vehicle theft and assaults on women. Local residents have remarked that spaces under the flyovers are overrun by vagabonds and drug-addicts for the past one year who engage in various activities at night as a result of which women residents and children feel insecure to cross the area. Many refuse to use Khilgaon flyover after dusk and muggings are reportedly rampant under the Kuril flyover and its surroundings, alleged a resident of Khilkhet area. The newspaper found addicts taking marijuana and heroin under the flyover as well as several sex-workers looking for the customers. Shopkeeper claimed that law enforcers do not pay any heed to the crimes despite repeated requests.
Crime is a social disease and it will continue to harm people from all walks of life if higher authorities do not take steps to control the situation. Petty and serious crimes taking place near and under the flyovers are caused by many factors, mainly the lack of proper regulation by police and poverty-stricken people. Poor people who do not have sources of stable income and suffer from an acute lack of access to basic services tend to engage in destructive activities like theft, drug peddling, prostitution as well as taking drugs to survive. The lack of state protection through police near and in flyover areas exposure regular citizens to harm and harassment. This is caused by systematic corruption and inefficiencies in the government which affect the poor and rich alike.
Police do not play an important role to decrease crimes in these urban areas. The law enforcers are rather engaged in corruption and made politically handicapped and let go of ruling party thugs harassing women and stealing from people as this drives fear into the hearts of people and shows the obvious disregard of people’s safety in public spaces. The general public perception of security of life is declining due to such kinds of crime and disorder, especially in such public spaces and the government is fully responsible for that.
Criminals engaging in harmful activities near and in the flyovers must be caught and punished by the police and the government should take different preventive steps to avoid such happenings. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening on daily basis. The police, as law enforcers of the state, are used or abused more politically against the opposition rather than do the routine law and order duties. This has widen-open the criminals, including ruling party cadre; to commit crime unabated at all spots, even at the overbridges.
