According to the figures of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), more than 6,000 people are involved in crimes like snatching and robbery in Dhaka city alone. Of them, some 1,737 are involved in snatching and 4,461 are involved in robbery.
The details of the people involved in these crimes are available on the central data base developed by the DMP. It includes information of people involved in crimes like snatching and robbery in the areas under 50 police stations in the capital.
According to the sources in the police, the criminals in Dhaka usually stop people on their way and take away money and other valuables at gunpoint. When the number of miscreants involved in these sorts of crimes is five or higher, then the cases are filed as robbery. The patterns of crimes have been recorded on this basis.
Analysing the figure, it has been found that the number of enlisted snatchers and robbers is the highest in the Tejgaon zone of the DMP. The number is the lowest in Mirpur zone. Police station wise, the number of snatchers and robbers is the highest in the areas under the Bhatara, Shahbagh and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police stations.
The figures of DMP’s central database shows that the number of people involved in crimes like snatchers and robbers is the lowest in the capital's Uttarkhan, Dakkhinkhan and Uttara East police stations. A total of the 18 people have been enlisted as snatchers and robbers in the areas under these three police stations.
However, the members of concerned police stations claim that there is more information in the database about the criminals of the areas where the snatchers and robbers have been arrested more.
According to the police officials, the incidents of snatching are more frequent in Badda, Bhatara, Mirpur and Pallabi areas of the capital. The number of incidents of snatching and robbery is also alarming in the areas of Shahbagh, Moghbazar, Ramna, Malibagh Railgate, Chankharpul, Gulistan, Dhanmondi, Jigatala bus stand, New Market, Panthapath, Science Laboratory intersection and areas adjacent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The snatchers remain active mainly from midnight to the early hours of the day. They usually target the passengers on rickshaws near bus stands, launch terminals and railway stations. The traders on the way to their shops in the capital’s Karwan Bazar or returning home from the market are also a common target of the snatchers. Besides, the incidents of snatching by intimidating people with weapons and firearms are very frequent in isolated lanes. Some of the criminal gangs use motorcycles and cars to snatch money, mobiles and jewellery from the pedestrians.
There are differences in the patterns of snatching based on areas. For instance, snatchers on the Airport Road snatch in the guise of members of law enforcement agencies. They set up fake check posts to stop the passengers returning from abroad and snatch away everything from them. A number of such miscreants have been arrested at different times.
According to the sources concerned, the DMP has developed the database using a software named Suspect Identification and Verification System (SIVS). It contains pictures of 6,198 people involved in robbery and snatching along with their name, age, father's name, present and permanent address, fingerprints, date of arrest, number of cases against them, name and surname of the arresting officer and mobile phone number. The number of criminals will increase further as the process of enlisting criminals is still underway.
Speaking to Prothom Alo regarding this, joint commissioner of DMP Biplab Bijoy Talukder said, “We developed the SIVS system to curb crimes in the capital. We are using the database to bring people involved in criminal activities to book. The details of the recently arrested criminals are being added to the database on a regular basis.”
How does the SIVS work?
The concerned officials say they are using the database to unravel the mysteries behind several unsolved cases of snatching and robbery in Dhaka.
Hayatul Islam Khan, deputy commissioner of DMP’s Motijheel zone said, “A female constable of the police’s Special named Nargis Akter, 33, was robbed in the early hours of 12 May. The robbers stopped her rickshaw and snatched a golden chain, cash money and a mobile phone from her. The same group was involved in another robbery on the very same day in Dhanmondi. They robbed two other persons in the capital’s Tejgaon and Banani area the following day on 13 May. While investigating, we identified the gang involved in these crimes after collecting and analysing more than 100 CCTV footages. Later, we detected their current location by matching the images from the CCTV footage with the criminal’s photo stored in the SIVS. Four of the gang members were arrested from Mohakhali on 15 May.”
Earlier on 27 March, dentist Ahmed Mahi was stabbed to death by a group of snatchers early in the morning. The Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested five persons in connection with the incident. The police later recovered the mobile, which was snatched, and the knife used for the murder based on the information they provided during the interrogation.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, DB police’s additional deputy commissioner in Mirpur zone Mohammad Saiful Islam said, “The names of two of the arrestees were in the SIVS.”
The DMP officials are claiming that they have successfully controlled the number of incidents of snatching and robbery in the city by using this app.
Khandakar Mahid Uddin, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the police arrested some 1,796 in connection with different crimes in the three months before the Eid-ul-Fitr last year. As a result, crimes like snatching and robbery in the capital were in control before the Eid-ul-Fitr this year in Dhaka.
‘SIVS is not enough to prevent snatching’
In 2008, the then DMP commissioner Nayeem Ahmed introduced ‘directives to prevent mugging, which identified a total of 544 hot spots in the areas under 33 police stations of the DMP. He said that many countries use databases like SIVS to curb crime.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said, “Database of criminals is only a medium to identify the offenders and prevent crimes. However, crimes cannot be fully controlled by using only this. The criminals very often move away from their area and new criminals replace them. Therefore, the police should identify the crime-prone areas systematically before any crime takes place. At the same time, these areas should be brought under strong vigilance.”
*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu