Give priority to arresting crime

FE Team | Published: June 14, 2026 21:21:30

Another horrific incident of mugging has come to light, underscoring how a cavalier approach to security arrangements can embolden bag-snatchers and muggers to rob people in broad daylight with a killer instinct. The incident reportedly took place last Sunday around 6:15 am in front of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka. Victim Soheli Islam, 42, was returning home with her only daughter by rickshaw after getting off a bus at Gabtoli. Two men on a motorcycle were passing by their rickshaw when the pillion rider suddenly grabbed and started pulling the vanity bag, the straps of which entangled a hand of Soheli. At one point, Soheli fell from the moving rickshaw. Her right arm was broken, and she suffered a serious injury to the back of her head. She died four days later while undergoing treatment at a city hospital.
Several CCTV videos have also been circulating on social media, showing how extortionists and criminal gangs attack pedestrians and commuters. One such horrific incident occurred last Friday night in the city's Shewrapara area. A group of men ambushed a motorcyclist named Rafi, striking him violently on the head with a brick. The impact knocked him to the ground, causing severe head injuries, after which the attackers made off with his motorcycle. Police later uncovered that the attack was preplanned and that Rafi had been targeted because he had objected to illicit drug trading in the area. Equally shocking is another video that went viral earlier this month, in which two women were seen being robbed at machete-point outside their home in Dhaka's Mohammadpur. The footage shows that the incident occurred in the wee hours of the morning when the victims returned to Dhaka after the Eid-ul-Azha holidays. The women were standing in front of their house after getting off a rickshaw when two men suddenly approached them. One of the assailants, wielding a machete, threatened the women with the weapon before snatching their luggage, bags and other belongings.
Amid such a deplorable law and order situation in the country, the sense of insecurity among city dwellers has intensified. Obviously, mugging is taking place on a daily basis in the capital and on its outskirts. Most of these incidents go unnoticed because video footage of every incident does not go viral on social media, and victims often do not lodge complaints with the police. Now, the question is: what are the members of the law enforcement agencies doing? Police have arrested suspects in some of these incidents. But the recurrence of similar crimes indicates that law enforcers' actions have not been sufficient to deter criminals.
Muggers are on the prowl because of the failure of the police to implement an effective mechanism for crime investigation leading to the arrest of culprits. It is expected that the law enforcement agencies will increase their vigilance at vulnerable points across the city. They should enhance patrols, especially during midnight and dawn, when passengers arrive in Dhaka by train and bus from distant districts and often fall victim to criminal acts. Mugging takes place regularly in certain areas, such as Mohammadpur. It is therefore not clear why special police squads do not patrol these crime-prone areas at midnight and in the early morning. To arrest the rising trend of crime, the government must direct the law enforcement agencies to concentrate more on vigilance and quick response to criminal activities.