Giving high priority to busting urban crime networks
Friday, 10 April 2009
Syed Fattahul Alim
Infamous operators of the criminal underworld are learnt have become very active in different areas of the city. The print and the electronic media have been carrying reports on the return of such criminals from abroad. The city markets are the happy hunting grounds of those criminals. The regular source of earning of these underworld operators is rent-seeking from the traders in the kitchen markets, the big wholesalers of essential commodities, contractors, owners of industrial ventures as well as peaceful citizens. These high profile denizens of the gangland are also used by rival groups in business and politics to bump off their adversaries. They are also used in land-related disputes in society and grabbing business establishments, houses and demesne lands. They are used also for intimidating the opponents as well as for contract killing.
The criminal gangs in Bangladesh, especially in its major cities are known by their individual and group names. The most notorious criminal leaders even grab headlines in the media during their heinous activities. Their arrest or release from the hands of the law enforcers and the court of law also get wide media coverage. Some of the lynchpins of the gangland are pampered with so much media attention that they have become kind of 'celebrities' in society. Frankly speaking, it is the media that is partly responsible for lionising these most hated criminals in society.
The criminal gangs and their leaders are the scourge of society. They have been there since time out of mind. Their growth and spread in society happens under the very nose of the law. So, the flaws in the systems of society and the administration in its present form are largely responsible for the growth and nourishment of the gang world and its leaders.
The most unfortunate aspect of the story is that in Bangladesh context the most dreaded crime operators has gained so much importance that sometimes the line between the political and social power and crime gets blurred. This is a great tragedy of the recent times in present-day Bangladesh. The upshot of this development is that crime and criminals are enjoying unnecessary attention and importance which is harmful for healthy development of society.
The governments from time to time launched special drives under various code names to arrest and bring the crime world dons to justice and bust their networks. But in most cases those fell through in the long run. As in the present case, they again became rehabilitated in society and started their operation with vengeance.
The last Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party alliance government formed the special crime-busting outfit known as Rapid Action Battalion or RAB. The rapid crime-fighting wing of the police demonstrated some success in the beginning. It was because of their professionalism and swiftness in pinpointing the criminal leaders and pouncing upon them out of the blue. Many of the gangsters then fled to Kolkata the capital of the West Bengal in India. Some of these gangster leaders were also killed in what is widely known as 'crossfire' arranged by this special team of the law-enforcers. After the last caretaker government took office, the godfathers of the gangland fled the country in greater numbers and took shelter in the neighbouring country. Meanwhile, the RAB continued its operation.
Though the special law-enforcing team showed sufficient efficiency in catching the members of these urban-based crime networks in the beginning, they gradually shifted their attention more to the rural-based extremist political groups. The entire media attention then focussed on the arrest and killing of the leaders of those extremist political outfits in the so-called 'crossfire.' But were the run-of-the-mill criminals and their leaders exterminated by that time? Not in the least. They have been operating as usual though maintaining a low profile status. The gang leaders were holding their complete sway over their gangs from their hideouts abroad or even from behind bars.
In other words, the urban-based crime outfits continued the rent-seeking and other criminal activities as before, though in a controlled manner, as before.
As noted in the foregoing, these criminal gang leaders get wide publicity in the media as 'terrors' and 'top terrors'. The extremist political outfits and their leaders are also termed terrorists in the media. As a result, confusion arises as who is the political terrorist and who is the common criminal. Such dilution of the difference between the political terrorism and common types of crime hardly helps containment of either political terrorism or common crime. It is time the law-enforcing agencies drew a line between the two kinds of social offence and carried out its anti-crime or anti-terrorism drives accordingly.
The return of the godfathers of urban-based crime networks has struck fear in the hearts of the businesspeople as well as the common citizens. If the criminal gangs and their notorious operators, who were dislodged for the time being from their strongholds in their respective areas operation, are able to consolidate their positions as before, the people in general will have to resign to their fate and be ready to buy peace, though uncertain, at all costs from these criminal god fathers.
Unless these crime gang dons who have been on the run so far are stopped from consolidating their positions right now, they will inflict irreparable damage to both business as usual and social peace. For they are now like hungry wolves out to compensate for the losses they had to sustain, if only due to their absence from the strong bases they had built in their own localities.
The incumbent government will have to be very serious about containing this threat to social peace and order in its newer and more virulent form. In fact, combating common crime should get the present government's highest attention in addition to its focus on militancy and terrorism.
Fighting the urban-based criminals should be easier than containing political types of terrorism including militancy. That is because the extremist political outfits that depend on terror tactics to push forward their agenda are driven by some kind of ideology, however hollow or sham their beliefs might look under more critical scrutiny. And until and unless these organisations are also encountered politically, it will be hard to defeat them completely. But the common criminals, however powerful they may look are very weak morally and can be eliminated from society with more ease than it would be necessary for fighting their political counterparts. But what will be most crucial for fighting common crime and its perpetrators is earnestness of the law-enforcement departments. In fact, it may not even need using and creating special forces to control these criminals, if only the law is allowed to perform as it should without political or any other kind of influence. The existing laws and the police are enough to do the job. However, to achieve the end, the morale of the police has to be high. To that end, it has to be rid of corruption as well as the blemish of its oft-alleged nexus with the criminals.
Infamous operators of the criminal underworld are learnt have become very active in different areas of the city. The print and the electronic media have been carrying reports on the return of such criminals from abroad. The city markets are the happy hunting grounds of those criminals. The regular source of earning of these underworld operators is rent-seeking from the traders in the kitchen markets, the big wholesalers of essential commodities, contractors, owners of industrial ventures as well as peaceful citizens. These high profile denizens of the gangland are also used by rival groups in business and politics to bump off their adversaries. They are also used in land-related disputes in society and grabbing business establishments, houses and demesne lands. They are used also for intimidating the opponents as well as for contract killing.
The criminal gangs in Bangladesh, especially in its major cities are known by their individual and group names. The most notorious criminal leaders even grab headlines in the media during their heinous activities. Their arrest or release from the hands of the law enforcers and the court of law also get wide media coverage. Some of the lynchpins of the gangland are pampered with so much media attention that they have become kind of 'celebrities' in society. Frankly speaking, it is the media that is partly responsible for lionising these most hated criminals in society.
The criminal gangs and their leaders are the scourge of society. They have been there since time out of mind. Their growth and spread in society happens under the very nose of the law. So, the flaws in the systems of society and the administration in its present form are largely responsible for the growth and nourishment of the gang world and its leaders.
The most unfortunate aspect of the story is that in Bangladesh context the most dreaded crime operators has gained so much importance that sometimes the line between the political and social power and crime gets blurred. This is a great tragedy of the recent times in present-day Bangladesh. The upshot of this development is that crime and criminals are enjoying unnecessary attention and importance which is harmful for healthy development of society.
The governments from time to time launched special drives under various code names to arrest and bring the crime world dons to justice and bust their networks. But in most cases those fell through in the long run. As in the present case, they again became rehabilitated in society and started their operation with vengeance.
The last Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party alliance government formed the special crime-busting outfit known as Rapid Action Battalion or RAB. The rapid crime-fighting wing of the police demonstrated some success in the beginning. It was because of their professionalism and swiftness in pinpointing the criminal leaders and pouncing upon them out of the blue. Many of the gangsters then fled to Kolkata the capital of the West Bengal in India. Some of these gangster leaders were also killed in what is widely known as 'crossfire' arranged by this special team of the law-enforcers. After the last caretaker government took office, the godfathers of the gangland fled the country in greater numbers and took shelter in the neighbouring country. Meanwhile, the RAB continued its operation.
Though the special law-enforcing team showed sufficient efficiency in catching the members of these urban-based crime networks in the beginning, they gradually shifted their attention more to the rural-based extremist political groups. The entire media attention then focussed on the arrest and killing of the leaders of those extremist political outfits in the so-called 'crossfire.' But were the run-of-the-mill criminals and their leaders exterminated by that time? Not in the least. They have been operating as usual though maintaining a low profile status. The gang leaders were holding their complete sway over their gangs from their hideouts abroad or even from behind bars.
In other words, the urban-based crime outfits continued the rent-seeking and other criminal activities as before, though in a controlled manner, as before.
As noted in the foregoing, these criminal gang leaders get wide publicity in the media as 'terrors' and 'top terrors'. The extremist political outfits and their leaders are also termed terrorists in the media. As a result, confusion arises as who is the political terrorist and who is the common criminal. Such dilution of the difference between the political terrorism and common types of crime hardly helps containment of either political terrorism or common crime. It is time the law-enforcing agencies drew a line between the two kinds of social offence and carried out its anti-crime or anti-terrorism drives accordingly.
The return of the godfathers of urban-based crime networks has struck fear in the hearts of the businesspeople as well as the common citizens. If the criminal gangs and their notorious operators, who were dislodged for the time being from their strongholds in their respective areas operation, are able to consolidate their positions as before, the people in general will have to resign to their fate and be ready to buy peace, though uncertain, at all costs from these criminal god fathers.
Unless these crime gang dons who have been on the run so far are stopped from consolidating their positions right now, they will inflict irreparable damage to both business as usual and social peace. For they are now like hungry wolves out to compensate for the losses they had to sustain, if only due to their absence from the strong bases they had built in their own localities.
The incumbent government will have to be very serious about containing this threat to social peace and order in its newer and more virulent form. In fact, combating common crime should get the present government's highest attention in addition to its focus on militancy and terrorism.
Fighting the urban-based criminals should be easier than containing political types of terrorism including militancy. That is because the extremist political outfits that depend on terror tactics to push forward their agenda are driven by some kind of ideology, however hollow or sham their beliefs might look under more critical scrutiny. And until and unless these organisations are also encountered politically, it will be hard to defeat them completely. But the common criminals, however powerful they may look are very weak morally and can be eliminated from society with more ease than it would be necessary for fighting their political counterparts. But what will be most crucial for fighting common crime and its perpetrators is earnestness of the law-enforcement departments. In fact, it may not even need using and creating special forces to control these criminals, if only the law is allowed to perform as it should without political or any other kind of influence. The existing laws and the police are enough to do the job. However, to achieve the end, the morale of the police has to be high. To that end, it has to be rid of corruption as well as the blemish of its oft-alleged nexus with the criminals.