Rising crime of mobile phone snatching

Mobile phone snatching has become a common crime in Dhaka city. The crime has been rising so alarmingly that you never know when you will become the next victim. Apart from snatching phones from slow-moving rickshaws, buses and cars, a group of criminals, nowadays, have started snatching phones riding on motorbikes. In the capital's Karwanbazar, Mohakhali and Uttara, people are losing their phones to members of this gang, also known as 'Tana Party'. They snatch valuables from passengers of slowly moving vehicles, usually waiting for their prey on busy roads. People fall victim to them when vehicles move slowly due to congestion or at any intersection.

Although the number of mobile phone snatching incidents is increasing day by day and people are losing their valuables every day, law enforcement agencies do not seem to act to combat the crime . On the other hand, most of the victims do not want to file case or general diary in this regard as many of them believe that the law enforcers cannot recover their snatched phones. And many of the victims are not interested in lodging any complaint with police stations to avoid unnecessary hassles of appearing in court and other issues. This is how these mobile phone snatchers are escaping the law and later appearing with newer techniques of snatching. We urge the authorities concerned to take steps so that the victims feel free to lodge complaint and the snatchers can be brought to book.

Rafid Alam,

Dhaka,

rafid.alam@northsouth.edu