THE interim government鈥檚 continued failure in restoring law and order is expressed in the fear of people living in Gazipur. In the first week of August, at least three people were murdered in the district, including the brutal murder of a journalist on August 7. Police recorded at least 104 murder incidents in the industrial district in January-July. In January-June, the Police Headquarters crime statistics reported that 38 robberies, 60 thefts, 27 kidnappings and 396 narcotics cases were recorded in the police stations under the Gazipur Metropolitan Police. Traders and industrial stakeholders in the districts are concerned that, if the situation persists, it will be challenging for them to continue. Locals say violence is taking place over establishing territorial control and control over extortion syndicates, land disputes, mugging and other petty crimes. The police administration is aware of the rising crime in the district and suggests that the rise is mainly because of the political shift in August 2024 and also because of the lack of human resources to cover a busy industrial district. The police must take more decisive actions to improve law and order in the district.
Law and order across the country is also no better. According to the police statistics, 1,336 cases of dacoity and robbery were reported across the country in the first six months of this year. During the same period, police recorded 1,530 murder cases. In addition, 515 kidnapping cases were reported in the same period, indicating a growing threat to personal security. Political violence is still pervasive in the country, as Transparency International Bangladesh said 121 people were killed and 5,189 injured in 471 incidents of such violence. Of the political violence reported, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was engaged in 72 per cent of the violence, while the Awami League accounted for 22 per cent, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami for 5 per cent and the National Citizen Party for 1 per cent. Mob violence remained a disturbing trend. Clearly, the interim government is struggling to restore law and order. Earlier this month, the government announced a combing operation, but similar combing operations in the past failed to contain crime. Instead, such combing operations occasionally resulted in the harassment of common people and an increase in arbitrary detention.
The government must, under the circumstances, abandon their strategy of denial and do all that is necessary to improve law and order. The political parties should abandon the corrupt tendencies that have for long characterised our mainstream political culture and meaningfully contribute to the rare opportunity of nation building presented by the July mass uprising.