Muggings on rise in residential areas

The winter season is on in Dhaka now. Because of the low temperatures after sunset, most streets become empty as evening rolls to night. This is especially true for residential areas in Dhanmondi, Uttara, Mirpur, Nikunja, Niketon and others. It seems that some muggers and criminal gangs are trying to take advantage of this situation now.

A week back, a friend of mine was walking from Road number 4 in Sector 4 to his house on Road 19 of the same sector in Uttara around 8:00 pm. He was talking on his mobile phone. As he was crossing International Turkish Hope School on Road 6, a tall man crossing him intentionally bumped into him. My friend became alert and he continued walking at his pace. The man called at him, at first saying that he knows him. As my friend did not react and continued to walk, the man shouted that he should stop as he has bumped into him. My friend moved further at this pace, then as soon as he walked past an empty rickshaw, he began to run as the potential mugger began chasing him. He traversed a street and barged through the open gates of the first house that he came across. He told the guards there that he is being chased by a mugger. The guards asked him to stay inside while they went out looking for the mugger. They did not find him as the person had already fled.

The guards at the house informed my friend that these incidents have been occurring since mid-November in the unlighted streets of Sector 4 and other sectors in Uttara.

Recently, the number of incidents of mugging in areas like Mirpur, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur and other residential areas of Dhaka has also been on the rise. I hope that the law enforcement-agency officials will take steps to curb these incidents. Also, citizens need to be more alert and take precautionary measures while travelling on the streets of Dhaka.

Akibul Javed,

Indira Road, Dhaka