Sudden spike in crime at Mohammadpur

A private television channel telecast a piece of news showing a group of robbers covered in facemasks looting money from a supershop holding the employees of the shop hostage with machetes. The incident took place in Bosila Garden City area in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur on Friday night.

Meanwhile, on the morning of 20 October six muggers arrived on two motorbikes, stopped a vehicle of Nestle Company and snatched more than Tk 1.1 million (Tk 11.85 lakh) in Mohammadpur Housing Limited area.

Not just these two incidents, there has been a sudden rise of murders, muggings and robberies in capital’s Mohammadpur area that is familiar as the residential area for middle and lower middle class population.

In this condition, local residents held a demonstration in front of Mohammadpur police station on Saturday afternoon with the demand of a crime-free Mohammadpur.

They are blaming the law and order enforcement forces for this situation. They have given the police an ultimatum of three days for a visible progress of the law and order situation.

Affected people say that the law and order situation in the capital has not become normal yet since the fall of Awami League government on 5 August.

The patrol activities of the police have not become fully operational yet for the crisis of vehicles and workforce leading to the criminal gangs being active.

Some of the youths centering the Geneva Camp in Mohammadpur have joined the criminal activities while new criminal gangs have erupted in some parts of Mohammadpur. Then some of the dismissed members of the law and order forces have resorted to robbery or mugging.

When asked officer-in-charge (OC) of Mohammadpur police station Ali Iftekhar Hasan told Prothom Alo that Mohammadpur was already one of the crime-prone areas of the capital for different reasons.

If the details of top-ten criminals are looked into, it would show that six of them grew up in Mohammadpur. The police force is unable to patrol the area properly because of the workforce crisis, he added.

According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) records, there have been four cases of murder, one case of mugging and two cases of robbery filed with Mohammadpur police station in 25 days from 1 to 25 October. Earlier, there were 17 cases of murders and one case of mugging filled with the police station in September.

A sensational case of robbery in recent times occurred in Mohammadpur area on 11 October. There was a robbery at the home and office of businessman Abu Bakar in Beribadh area on Tin Rasta intersection around 3:15 am in the dead of that night.

The robbers dressed as army and RAB personnel identified themselves as members of the joint force. They looted Tk 7.5 million and 70 Bhori of gold, as reported by the victim and police sources.  

The law and order enforcement force has found information that a former high-up RAB officer is also involved in the robbery. According to sources concerned, that former officer of the lieutenant colonel rank was the chief of a department at the RAB headquarters.

Apart from that, names of some members (non-commissioned) of the law and order enforcement forces working at RAB-4 have also come up in connection to the robbery.

Several related sources have confirmed that the incident is being investigated from RAB as well as Army in concern of those personnel. RAB has reported about arresting eight people in connection to the robbery. Meanwhile, investigating agency of the case Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)’s Detective Branch (DB) has reported the arrest of three people.

A 56-second video clip has gone viral on social media. The video showed a young women walking in Nabinagar Housing area in Mohammadpur. A young man came and blocked her path. Then three more youths arrived and started scuffling with her. They snatched her bag away. Police hasn’t arrested anyone regarding this incident yet.

The crowd from the protest programme of more than a hundred people in front of Mohammadpur Police Station on Saturday afternoon stated that the criminals are extorting money showing arms. Even the members of different area-based criminal gang are committing public robberies also. Yet, police is unable to bring them to justice.

On behalf of the local residents, central member of the national citizen committee Mutasim Billah gave the police an ultimatum of 72 hours to bring the robberies and muggings under control. He said that police patrol has to be increased and security has to be ensured in Mohammadpur area within this period.

Besides, activities of the teen gangs, extortion and violence have to be stopped. If there are no visible steps, the students and people would take position in Mohammadpur police station. After the demonstration, local people had a meeting in the office of Mohammadpur police station OC Ali Iftekhar Hasan.

Deputy police commissioner of police in Tejgaon zone, Md Ruhul Kabir Khan told Prothom Alo over the phone around 12:00 am on early Sunday that there was an incident of shooting at the Geneva Camp in Mohammadpur. Three people were shot in that. Later, the police along with the joint force arrested six people in a raid that was still going on.