Mugging has become more prevalent in Dhaka city ahead of Eid. A woman named Sunita Rani Das was killed by a group of muggers Wednesday. She was going to the Buddhist temple in Mugda area in a rickshaw with her nephew at around 6:00am. The muggers, passing in a car near the Kamalapur bus depot, snatched Sunita's purse from the moving rickshaw and fled with the bag. She fell off the rickshaw and received serious head injury. Sunita was rushed to Mugda Medical College Hospital and later transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries at 10:00am.
Sunita Rani Das lived with her family in Gopibagh Rishipara in Mugda. Her husband Sujan Chandra Das is ill and their three children are unemployed. Sunita's family was running on little income. The police could not arrest anyone so far.
The tragic death of Sunita Rani Das has raised many questions. The muggers in a car snatched her bag and fled, but the law enforcement officers did not notice! That means an important area like Kamalapur bus depot is unprotected. What is more worrying is that such incidents of snatching, theft, robbery and murder are not happening in only Kamalapur area. Earlier in January, a businessman named Hamidul Islam was stabbed to death in front of the High Court. After the incident, the DMP announced a crackdown in the capital. If there is a crackdown on miscreants in the city, then why are so many people dying?
According to the police statistics, in 2018, there were 78 snatching cases in different police stations of the capital while it creased to 119 in 2019. And in 2020 the number stands at 176. However, according to the victims, the actual number of robberies is much higher. A review of the GR records of the CMM court in Dhaka has shown that in the last 10 years, mugging has been more frequent in 15 police stations including Shahbagh, Ramna, Motijheel, Badda, Jatrabari and Demra.
When the lockdown started in the wake of the second wave of corona in April, the movement of people in the city decreased a lot. Markets have been reopened ahead of Eid. Public transport has also started from Thursday. In this situation, the incidents of theft and snatching will increase undoubtedly. The situation will exacerbate, especially on roads and markets. In this situation, it has become urgent to increase police patrols on the roads and markets.
Sunita Rani Das died at the hands of the muggers. Her children became orphans. The whole family has become destitute as the only earning member has died. The government, city corporations or any non-government organization may come forward to help Sunita Rani Das's sick husband and three unemployed sons to find a way to survive.
The killers of Sunita Rani Das should be arrested immediately and severe punishment should be ensured. Police patrol need to be stepped up for public safety so that they are nabbed while committing such crimes in public.