A sudden outbreak of 'lawlessness' with gangland crimes and killings in the capital alarmed even civil-society members, rights activists and security experts who suggested that the government address the situation from the front.
They noted that the recent killings and muggings sparked panic among the common people and business circles.
To improve the law-and-order situation in the city, the government and the law-enforcement agencies must take the desperate criminal activities seriously, instead of considering those as isolated ones, they said.
As per their views, it's time the government took necessary measures to enhance efficiency of the law-enforcers in dealing with "post-crime tasks" like immediate detection of the criminals and their hideouts. It's an imperative for "establishing the rule of law", a number of them said while speaking especially on the back-to-back killings in home attacks by assailants.
Talking to the FE, Executive Director of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) Sultana Kamal said apart from businessmen, politicians and professionals, general people are also now feeling insecure as killing and mugging incidents are taking place frequently "without any resistance".
"There are no such preventive measures visible in the capital from the law-enforcement agencies which discourage people from committing crime. The committed incidents indicated that the criminals do not fear to commit offences," she said.
Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan) general secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder was critical of the statement terming these as 'isolated incidents' by some of the senior government official.
He said the government should take those issues very seriously before things go beyond their control.
"The government higher officials should refrain from making such statements as it would definitely encourage criminals. The masterminds should be brought to justice immediately for the sake of good governance," he said.
The capital's overall security arrangements came under question following two sensational killing incidents, which took lives of four people, including a religious leader.
And, to everybody's worry, the killing missions have been executed in less than 24 hours.
Unidentified assailants went to the West Razabazar residence of Khatib of the High Court Mazar mosque Nurul Islam Farooqi after Magrib prayers early Wednesday night and slaughtered him after tying down everyone of the family.
The killing also sparked protests in various parts of the country.
Barely 24 hours after the incident, city-dwellers suffered a deep shock when a group of armed miscreants stormed into a semi-pucca house in Maghbazar and opened random fire that killed three members of a family. The law-enforcers were yet to arrest anyone regarding those incidents, although two days have gone by.
Apart from those killing incidents, muggers on August 26 snatched away Tk 3.0 million from employees of a distributor company of Akij Group in the capital's Dilu Road area in broad daylight.
The miscreants also opened fire and exploded several homemade bombs during the mugging, leaving the six employees injured.
Two days before, criminals opened fire and took away Tk 3.0 million from a land-broker named Mujibur Rahman in Mirpur area. The victim is undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Chest Diseases and Hospital (NIDCH).
Besides, the law-enforcers are yet to make any visible progress regarding the incident of slaughtering six people at a house in Gopibagh even after almost nine months of the sensational killings.
When contacted, Joint Commissioner (crimes and operations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Meer Rezaul Alam turned down the claim of sudden lawlessness in the capital, saying that it should not be fair call it lawlessness by focusing two incidents of killing.
"We're working hard to arrest the killers. We're hopeful that we'll be able to catch them. The law-and-order situation is completely under our control. So, there is nothing to be worried," he said.
The senior police official further said they have also stepped up intelligence and vigilance activities in the capital to avert any further incident.
Not only the civil-society members, ruling-party senior leader Suranjit Sengupta at a discussion in the capital said common people are seriously worried over the security arrangements and urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to look into the matter.
"Criminals have been killing people at their homes. It cannot be accepted at all. What our security forces are doing," he added.
Expressing worries over the current state of security arrangements, security analyst Brig-General (retd) Shakhawat Hossain said the investigators cannot do their jobs properly whenever political colour comes into act.
"The tendency of impunity given to the criminals led to lawlessness. I came to know that the alleged mastermind to the triple murder in Maghbazar was an accused in a murder case. But he was not behind bars and completed another killing mission," he said.
The former army officer went on: "Our security officials are incapable …I don't believe this. They (law-enforcers) managed to recover stolen baby within seven days of his abduction. They were not allowed to work independently--that is the problem."
Terming dillydallying in the judicial process as another reason behind such criminal offences, he further said the cases filed against criminals are too weak to ensure punishment.
"The social and overall security system will be at risk if the things are continuing to happen," he came to the conclusion.
President of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh Abdus Salam Murshedy said immediate arrest and proper investigation into those events could bring some sort of relief to the people.
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