Muggers, thieves and robbers have become confident taking advantage of the relaxed law enforcement since the unstable political situation became calm in the capital.
At least 20 incidents of mugging, robbery and theft reportedly took place in the last three days while many more remain unreported. Many are linking this rise in crime to the reduced police Rab and BGB patrolling and withdrawal of check posts by the Rab and police in the capital.
Khorshed Alam, the officer-in-charge of Paltan police station, admitted that since the political scene calmed down the presence of different law enforcement and security agencies had been reduced and criminals like muggers, thieves and robbers had become more active.
Sources said at least five separate incidents of mugging took place at the capital’s Mohakhali, Paltan, Pallabi and Jurain within three hours on Sunday night leaving at least five people, including a woman, injured while the muggers snatched over Tk30 lakh and other valuables from them.
In one of the incidents, locals caught one of the muggers of a gang while they were fleeing after snatching Tk20 lakh from the employees of a travel agency at Purana Paltan area.
The injured persons were admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Four of them were stabbed and a woman sustained injuries when bombs had been hurled at them.
In two separate incidents in Mohakhali, Md Zahir Talukder, 28, a representative of Drugs International, and buying house employee Mithu Majumder were stabbed and looted by two gangs of muggers from 10pm to 10:30pm Sunday night.
Asked, Bhuiyan Mabub Hasan, officer-in-charge of Banani police station, said they were trying to capture the muggers.
In the same period, Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, 30, and Nazrul Islam, 36, were stabbed and looted by another gang of criminals at Block B of Section 12 in Pallabi around 10:30pm.
In Jurain, a female factory worker named Alo Akhter, 26, sustained severe injuries when a gang of criminals hurled a bomb at her while she was returning to her East Jurain residence from her workplace on foot around 9:30pm.
A gang of six to seven armed criminals riding three motorcycles looted Tk20 lakh from the employees of a travel agency around 7pm in front of Kosturi Hotel at Paltan. Locals caught one of them although the others fled with the money.
On Saturday, a gang of thieves made off with almost everything of value from the house of journalist Palash Dutta in Shyamoli.
Another journalist Hayat Mahmud was chased by a gang of two muggers riding a motorbike when he wa returning to his house in Rajabazar on Saturday night. The journalist ran back to his office, at which point the criminals fled the scene.
On Friday night, a gang of criminals stormed into a girls’ hostel and robbed gold ornaments, mobile phones and other valuables from a dozen young women at the capital’s Farmgate.