The death of a schoolteacher in a mugging near the National Parliament complex has put Dhaka’s early-morning security under fresh scrutiny, as police records show nearly 1,400 known muggers remain active across the capital while many crimes never make it into official statistics.
Ranjina Parvin had travelled from Bogra to Dhaka for an eye operation. But her journey to a Farmgate hospital early Saturday turned fatal when muggers targeted her rickshaw near the Parliament complex.
As the assailants attempted to snatch her bag, Ranjina was pulled from the moving rickshaw and fell onto the road. She was rushed to hospital in a bloodied condition, where doctors declared her dead.
The Rapid Action Battalion arrested two people on Sunday in connection with her death.
However, RAB-2 Commander Additional DIG Naimul Hasan said investigators had yet to determine who actually pulled the bag that caused Ranjina to fall.
“The matter is being investigated,” he said.
Her death has again exposed a familiar vulnerability in the capital: the hours before dawn when long-distance passengers enter Dhaka through largely deserted streets and become easy targets for organised mugging gangs.
Official figures show 1,387 people are currently listed by Dhaka Metropolitan Police as active muggers across the city. Around 80% of them are accused in multiple cases.
Yet police maintain that recent incidents are isolated and say there is no reason for public alarm.
Crime experts dispute that assessment, warning that official case numbers may capture only a fraction of the actual crimes and that mugging has increasingly evolved from opportunistic street crime into organised operations concentrated in particular areas.
Hotspots across capital
The threat extends far beyond the area surrounding the National Parliament.
Sadarghat, Gabtoli, Gulistan, Kalabagan, Sayedabad, Mohakhali, Motijheel, Fakirapul and Kamalapur are among areas considered particularly vulnerable during the late-night and early-morning hours.
Many are major transport hubs where passengers from outside Dhaka arrive before sunrise.
With fewer people on the streets, inadequate lighting in some locations and limited public transport, passengers can become easy targets. Criminals use knives, scissors, locally made weapons and, in some cases, firearms to take cash, phones and valuables.
Sarowardi Hossain encountered that danger after arriving in Gabtoli from Pabna on a night bus.
It was still dark when he began walking along Mazar Road.
“Several muggers held me at gunpoint and took my money and wallet. I feel frightened whenever I go out. The government should ensure people’s safety,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Like many victims, Sarowardi never went to police.
“I came to Dhaka for some work. Should I do that work or keep running to the police station to file a case?” he said.
His decision illustrates why criminologists believe police statistics substantially understate the scale of the problem.
178 cases in seven months
Only 178 robbery or mugging cases were recorded at Dhaka’s 50 police stations during the first seven months of this year.
Police recorded 29 cases in January, 22 in February, 25 each in March and April, 33 in May, 24 in June and 20 in July.
The figures contrast sharply with the 1,387 people police themselves list as active muggers.
Wari tops the DMP list with 308 active muggers, while Tejgaon and Uttara have 240 each. Motijheel has 168, Lalbagh 159, Ramna 152, Gulshan 67 and Mirpur 53.
Around four in every five people on the list are accused in multiple cases, according to police.
DMP Additional Commissioner for Crime and Operations Mohammad Osman Gani, however, described the recent incidents as isolated.
“Checkposts have been set up at points vulnerable to mugging, and searches are being conducted. Police patrol vehicles are also deployed at night. Police are working to prevent mugging,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
He said there was no reason for concern and that police were working to ensure people’s safety.
‘Not isolated crimes’
Dr Md Omar Faruk, professor of criminology and police science at Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, challenged the characterisation of the incidents as isolated.
“The state must take responsibility for the teacher’s death. Ensuring public safety is the government’s responsibility,” he said.
Faruk said the nature of mugging had changed, with organised groups increasingly involved.
“Muggings were once largely associated with drug addicts. Now, the situation is different. Such crimes are often carried out by syndicates operating in specific areas,” he said.
He alleged that some people connected with police, local politics and other influential quarters were involved in such networks, while economic instability was also contributing to crime.
Effective prevention, he said, requires research, intelligence and targeted planning rather than treating each mugging as a disconnected incident.
‘I want justice for my daughter’
For Ranjina’s family, however, the debate over crime statistics and policing has already become a personal tragedy.
Her mother, Jobeeda Khatun, demanded that everyone responsible for her daughter’s death be brought to justice.
“I want the muggers who killed my daughter to be arrested quickly and punished,” she said.
But she also made a demand that goes beyond her daughter’s case.
“The government must also take steps to ensure that people feel safe when they leave their homes.”
Ranjina had come to the capital seeking medical treatment. Her death on the way to hospital has now turned attention to a broader question confronting the city: how safe are Dhaka’s streets when much of the capital is still asleep?