Muggers becoming active ahead of Eid

Muggers have started becoming active ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr despite tight security arrangements made to avert incidents like snatching and robbery in the month of Ramadan.
Sources with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said the muggers had changed their strategy to escape the eyes of the increased number of law enforcers while committing such crimes during peak time.
The sources said each of the capital's police stations earlier received complaints about 5-6 incidents of mugging on an average a month.
But the number of complaints received by most of the police stations in the last 10 days already crossed the mark indicating  that the snatchers started becoming active ahead of the Eid, the sources said.
The muggers use firearms, sharp weapons, motorbike and in some cases cars in committing the crimes and their targets are businessmen, traders, service holders, Bikash agents and shoppers, according to the sources.   
Early on Saturday at Purba Rajabazar in the capital snatchers took away Tk 25,000 from a fish trader after shooting him. The fish trader was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with bullet wounds.  
Patrol police, on June 7 last, arrested a mugger with Tk 5.9 million from the capital's Eskaton area after a gunfight following an attack by snatchers on a US citizen Thursday night in front of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB).
Shamim Ahmed, a private job holder, said a group of three muggers coming by a motorbike had intercepted his rickshaw in front of the Kamalapur Stadium and taken away his mobile phone, watch and Tk 6,000 in cash brandishing a sharp weapon Tuesday last.
"But I didn't go to the police station to lodge a complaint because of my previous experience when I went there in another such case but received nothing," he added.
Shahadat Hossain, a shop owner at Anarkoli Shopping Mall, told the FE that three incidents of mugging took place in Mouchak and Malibagh shopping areas over the last five days, prompting the owners' association to intensify security there.
"Female pickpockets are also ruling the city streets as we received some complaints about them," he said.
Such criminal activities created some sort of panic among the citizens, he added.
Passengers of CNG-run three-wheelers are also coming under the attacks of muggers, who snatch valuables by cutting open the plastic coverings on the backside, when the vehicles stand at different traffic signals.
However, law-enforcing agencies have become more cautious than before against the backdrop of the spurt of the incidents of mugging in the last 10 days in the capital city.
Sub-inspector of Ramna Police Station Iftekhar Md. Al Amin, who caught a mugger at Eskaton after a gun battle few days ago, said the muggers intercept their targets at strategic points especially in narrow lanes, so that they can escape safely.
He said a number of them use motorbikes and cars and mug people and some of them take away valuables from their victims after doping them.
"Besides our security arrangements, people should be careful and avoid narrow roads, especially in this month, to avert falling victim to such criminals," he added.
Talking to the FE, Officer-in-Charge of Ramna Police Station Mashiur Rahman feared a further increase in the number of such incidents as the Eid was drawing nearer.
When contacted, DMP Joint Commissioner (crimes) Mir Rezaul Alam said they had focused mainly on incidents like mugging and robbery while drawing the security plan.
"Yes, our recent crimes-related statistics shows that groups of muggers have become active in the capital and we've also stepped up security," he said.
The number of patrol teams using motorbikes also increased substantially. They were keeping an eye on those snatching belongings by using bikes and other transports, he said. Police personnel were also deployed at each of the shopping malls.
He, however, called upon the businessmen and others to take police escort while carrying big sums of money from banks and other places.
However, criminologists said the exact number of snatching incidents would be much higher than the official figure as many such incidents were going unreported.