Arya News - Data from the Police Headquarters presents a grim picture of violent crimes, including murder, mugging, robbery, extortion, and mob violence, in the first six months of 2025.
DHAKA – A recent spate of violent crimes across the country has raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of law enforcement, nearly a year into the interim government’s tenure.
Data from the Police Headquarters (PHQ) presents a grim picture of violent crimes, including murder, mugging, robbery, extortion, and mob violence, in the first six months of 2025.
Moreover, many of these incidents were caught on camera and widely shared on social media, fuelling fear and insecurity among the public.
Inspector General of Police Mohammad Baharul Alam admitted that the police are yet to regain their control following last year’s traumatic political upheaval.
“You may say we haven’t been 100 percent successful. Maybe not even 50 percent. The situation is widespread … we must find ways to deal with it,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.
Experts warned that the situation may worsen if the government fails to take prompt and effective measures to tackle it.
According to PHQ, 1,336 cases of dacoity and robbery were reported across the country in the first six months of this year.
During the same period, police recorded 1,930 murder cases, though over 400 of them were filed over incidents that took place in previous years.
Crimes against women and children also remained a serious concern. From January to June this year, 11,008 cases related to the repression of women and children were filed.
In addition, 515 kidnapping cases were reported in the same period, indicating a growing threat to personal security.
Mob violence remained a disturbing trend. At least 89 people were killed in mob attacks between January and June this year, including 45 in Dhaka alone, according to rights group Ain o Salish Kendra.
Such incidents have continued despite repeated warnings from law enforcement officials and government advisers.
SPATE OF VIOLENT CRIMES
One such case is the recent brutal killing of scrap metal trader Lal Chand alias Sohag in the capital’s Mitford area on Wednesday, a video of which went viral on social media, sparking public outrage.
Many criticised how such a barbaric assault could occur in broad daylight and in full view of bystanders, without any intervention.
Meanwhile, a group of armed men attacked a business establishment in the capital’s Pallabi on Friday, allegedly for not getting Tk 5 crore in extortion money.
Also on Friday, unidentified assailants severed tendons and shot dead a former Jubo Dal leader in front of his house in Khulna city.
The same day, a 75-year-old khatib of a local mosque was hacked with a machete after Juma prayers in Chandpur.
On Friday morning, muggers in the capital’s Shyamoli area not only snatched valuables from a man but also took his shirt and shoes.
Just a day before, police recovered the body of a man bearing multiple hack wounds, with his hands cuffed behind his back and legs tied with a scarf, from a roadside in the capital’s Mirpur-11 area.
Such killings have lately hogged the headlines.
Apart from these, mugging incidents, some taking place in broad daylight, have also rattled people’s confidence in the country’s law and order.
These incidents kept occurring even as the army remains deployed across the country with magistracy powers to assist in maintaining law and order.
IGP Baharul Alam yesterday said the authorities are yet a find a way to make the force fully operational.
“Our main challenge is making the force 100 percent effective after such a traumatic experience [last year],” he said at an event in Gendaria.
“I’m still not satisfied [with the situation]. We’re still in the process [of regaining control],” he said, adding that operations and arrests of known criminals are ongoing.
On political ties to crimes, he said the expulsion of accused individuals from political organisations is a welcome sign.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury defended law enforcers. “If police were inactive, arrests wouldn’t have happened in last two days,” he said, referring to the Mitford murder.
“There may have been some delays in action, but we acted after verifying information,” he said, urging people to contact police instead of taking law into their own hands.
Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman said the elite force is focused on regaining public trust following criticism during last year’s political unrest. “Gaining public trust is the main task,” he said at a press briefing in Karwan Bazar.
Omar Faruk, a professor at the Department of Criminology and Police Science at Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, said prolonged political misuse of the police has deeply damaged the institution.
“For 15 years, police have been used politically. That damage is hard to reverse,” he told The Daily Star. “Police still don’t behave like they should in a democratic country.”
He added, “I have spoken to several officers. They believe the police are going through a crisis period, and once it’s over, the situation will be under control, gradually.”
However, he said the government has to arrange training or counselling programmes to help officers adapt to the situation.
He also said curated efforts are needed to rebuild the trust between the force and the people.