THE New Nation on Tuesday reported killing, mugging, rape of young women and such other crimes have increased manifolds in the city and all over the country, no matter members of law enforcement agencies are at work or not. In April, at least 21 people were killed and 16 robberies committed with yet greater number of mugging, extortion and sexual assault, not reported formally, wrecked the people’s life and women’s dignity. These are the figures handed over by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) but as per neutral sources, the number runs many times high, because a large number of crimes remained unrecorded at police station fearing reprisal.
On Sunday newspaper report said a gang of muggers shot a man and snatched over Tk 33 lakhs from him at Moghbazar area. On Saturday criminals killed a girl while she obstructed to stealing valuables from her Jatrabari home. In another incident, robbers looted gold, cash and other valuables after strangulating a young woman in the city’s Dakkhin Khan area on Friday night.
A young tribal girl was gang-raped in a moving microbus and thrown to the roadside in Uttara on Thursday night, sending emotion high in all walks of life. The primary duty of law enforcers is to give protection to people. But the way crime has spread all over the country and criminals are moving with impunity, police is not enough anymore to face the problem, specially when involvement of a section of police, RAB and such other forces with occurrences of crimes are known to all.
A girl was raped and sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) last week. A four-year old boy was hacked to death by unidentified miscreants in Bhatara area on Saturday while a five-member family was robbed from a house at Badda.
But when all such crimes are taking place, senior police officials regularly claim the law and order situation is under control making such claims a mockery of truth. It is alleged that criminals conduct killing, robbery and mugging in many cases after receiving green signals from local police and law enforcers as they get part of the benefits from such crimes. More so, crimes do not embarrass the law enforcers or the government anymore while they keep silent or keep on denying crimes and remaining busy arresting political opposition of the government to mislead the authorities from the real situation on the ground.
The overwhelming politicization of the law enforcers now and in the past has affected police efficiency. The police cases are increasing but this is not known whether the real criminals are going free or not. But crimes are increasing and the police are interested in initiating criminal cases without bothering that police activities are not helping to prevent crimes. For politics, there is lack of police accountability for dealing with crimes. Rather criminals are more organized denying peace and security to the people in the cities and rural countryside. Crimes like rape and murder are being freely committed with impunity in the capital city itself. The success of police will be counted by its success in combating crimes.
