Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 27
Mehedi Hasan Marof, Al Jazeera
When Maydul Hassan was first mugged, he thought he had hit rock bottom. But within a week, the 21-year-old student was battered and robbed again – this time, in front of the police, who, according to Hassan, stood by and did nothing.
Hassan, who participated in last year’s student-led uprising that helped unseat longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, now wonders what the nation he risked his life for has turned into. “The nation is drowning in crime, no one seems to care.”
On February 13, a group of men ambushed him at about 10pm, while he was returning home from his part-time job at a tech firm in the capital’s Mirpur area. The attackers took his Pixel 4XL phone, wallet, university ID and headphones.
Days later, on February 18, he was beaten and robbed. The assailants snatched the new Google Pixel 7 phone he had just bought on a $400 loan, then mocked him as he pleaded with them to return it.
“I live in a country where, even as a victim, I am harassed inside a police station.” Ali Ahmed Masud, the chief of Dhanmondi Police Station, where Hassan had gone, insisted that no one was obstructed from lodging a complaint.
However, Masud did not comment on the allegation that police officers stood by without intervening while Hassan was being attacked. “It hasn’t come to my knowledge yet. I’ll look into it,” Masud said.
Safety on edge
Hassan’s ordeal is not an isolated case. Bangladesh, home to 170 million people, is experiencing its worst crime wave in years. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, the streets have grown increasingly perilous. In January 2025 alone, police reported 242 cases of mugging and robbery – the highest number in six years – across Bangladesh.
At least 294 murders were recorded in January 2025, compared with 231 in the same month the previous year. Robberies surged from 114 to 171, and abductions more than doubled. Police data also show a sharp rise in muggings, robberies and abductions in November and December last year, surpassing figures from the same period over the previous five years.
However, retired Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, who is in charge of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs, has dismissed these concerns, claiming that the government is appropriately dealing with the increasing crime rate.
‘Never seen such a bad situation’
In one incident, Anwar Hossain, a jeweller, was attacked outside his home while carrying gold worth approximately 28,100,000 taka ($232,000) in cash. Six men on motorcycles tried to snatch his bag. When he resisted, they shot him and fled. With gunshot wounds in both legs, Hossein is now undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The incident, captured on video, went viral and sparked outrage and protests across Dhaka, with demonstrators demanding Chowdhury’s resignation. Between February 1 and February 26, dozens of violent crimes – including murder, rape, robbery and extortion – nationwide were reported in local media, with gruesome videos and firsthand accounts from victims circulated widely on social media.
“There was theft and snatching before, but now, it is out of limit,” said Rahmat Ullah, a rickshaw driver in his 50s. He added that he had “never seen such a bad situation” in more than 17 years of work. His passengers have been victims of attacks too, Ullah said.
Protests have erupted across university campuses, led by several student groups, especially after a wave of reported rapes across the country – of which Al Jazeera could independently verify at least 10. The protesters have demanded the immediate resignation of the Home Affairs adviser and urgent action to tackle the deteriorating law and order situation.
Tawohidul Haque, a crime analyst and associate professor at Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research, told Al Jazeera that one of the key indicators of an improving crime situation is whether people feel safe at home, outside and while commuting.”People now do not feel safe any more,” he said.
Many private university students from different institutions are now demanding online classes during Ramadan, citing safety concerns.
Government struggles
On February 8, the government launched Operation Devil Hunt, a joint military and police crackdown that was meant to tackle the rising crime wave. But while more than 9,000 arrests have been made, violent crime continues unabated.
After Chowdhury’s, the Home Affairs adviser, February 24 news conference, police arrested 248 people allegedly involved in various criminal activities in different parts of Dhaka, within 24 hours.
As fear spreads, some citizens have taken security into their own hands. In multiple neighbourhoods, locals have formed self-defence patrols, armed with sticks and batons to fend off muggers. In one shocking case, two men suspected of mugging were beaten and hung upside down from a Dhaka footbridge by an angry crowd on February 25. That same night, another suspected mugger was beaten to death.
In January alone, 16 people were killed in mob violence nationwide, according to the rights body Ain O Salish Kendra. Experts attribute the surge in crime to the political turmoil following Hasina’s removal. Since Hasina’s August removal, the Yunus government has moved out the heads of each of Bangladesh’s 50 police stations for allegedly being close to Hasina’s party. Another driving force behind the crime wave is the release on bail of convicted criminals – some of whom were once listed as “top terror” figures – after the political transition, a senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police officer said.Weapons looted during political uprisings have also found their way into criminal hands, fulling a rise in armed muggings. Videos of masked gangs wielding weapons have spread fear across social media.
Hasan, the political analyst, argues that a democratically elected government would be far more effective in restoring law and order.
The interim government has yet to announce a concrete timeline for elections. However, Yunus’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, told the media on February 24 that polls could take place at the latest by March 2026.
But for many young Bangladeshis, every day without a sense of security feels like a betrayal.
