‘Gotham, but not Batman’: Dhaka’s criminal waves 6 months after Hasina escaped | Crime
When Maydul Hassan was first tangled, he thought he had hit the bottom of the stone. But within a week, the 21-year-old student was full and robbed-in-the-way, in front of the police, which, according to Hassan, stood and did nothing.
Hassan, who participated in last year’s Uprising under the leadership of a student This helped to remove the long -standing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasin, now wondering what the nation for which he risked his life. “This is what I got in return,” he said. “The nation is drowning in crime, it seems that no one cares.”
On February 13, a group of men ambushed him around 10 pm, as he returned home from his part -time job at a technology company in the Mirpur of the capital. The attackers took their Pixel 4xl telephone, wallet, university card and headphones.
Days later, February 18, he was beaten and robbed. The attackers grabbed the new Google Pixel 7 phone, which he had just bought at a $ 400 loan and then mocked him as he begged him to get him back.
The police were stationed only meters, Hassan said. “I cried, I prayed, but the police did nothing.”
When Hassan later tried to appeal to a nearby police station, a local man who claims to be a member of the Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal, the Student Wing of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), one of the main opposition parties who acquired the influence from Hasina’s lining. “You don’t have to handle this. I’ll find your phone, “the man assured him, following him outside – and then in return demanded money.
Desperate, Hassan withdrew and handed over 3500 Bangladesh Tak ($ 29) from a nearby ATM. He soon realized that he was cheated. The man later, he discovered, was also part of Hasina’s student wing, Bangladeska Chhatra League (BCL)-All too many usual cases of political opportunism in which members of the fallen parties convey loyalty overnight to align with those in power.
Hassan eventually filed a lawsuit on the net, whose copy was shown by Al Jazeera, but no police action followed.
“I live in a country where even as a victim, I harass themselves at a police station. The criminals walk freely, bending their power in front of the officers, and the police do nothing. I begged before them, and everything they did was watch,” Hassan wrote in a Facebook post that went virally overnight.
But Ahmed Masud, head of Dhamondi Police Station, where Hassan left, insisted that no one was disturbed by the complaint. “From my understanding, there may have been a contract that the phone would return, which is why he initially decided not to submit a general diary [police complaint]”Masud said.
“But later, when he filed one, we are actively working on the phone recovery and taking action against crossing.”
However, the masud did not comment on the claim that the police stood without intervention while Hassan was attacked. “That hasn’t been understood yet. I’ll look at it,” Masud said.
Safety on the edge
Hassan’s torture is not an isolated case. Bangladesh, home 170 million people, has been experiencing its worst wave of crime in the years. Since the fall of the Government of Sheikh Hasina, the streets have become more dangerous. In January 2025.
At least 294 murders were recorded in January 2025, compared to 231 in the same month of the previous year. The robbers increased from 114 to 171, and the abductions were more than doubled. Police data also show a sudden increase in crossings, robbery and abduction in November and December last year, surpassing figures from the same period in the previous five years.
“The data is alarming,” said Sakib Najmus, Assistant Professor of Criminology at Daka University. “People have fought for democracy, but now they are afraid to go out of their homes. This does not give a positive sign of the state of our law.”
However, retired Lieutenantman Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, who is in charge of the Ministry of Interior Bangladesh, retired General Lieutenant Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, rejected these concerns, claiming that the Government was appropriately engaged in the increasing rate of crime.
“You will feel tonight that our activities for the implementation of the law have increased significantly,” Chowdhury told reporters during an emergency conference at 3 hours – hours of February 24 – hours after a wave of crossing in different parts of Dhake caused panic among residents.
‘I’ve never seen such a bad situation’
In one incident, Anwar Hossain, a jewelry, was attacked in front of his house, while carrying gold in value of approximately 28,100,000 Taka ($ 232,000) in cash. Six motorcycle men tried to grab the bag. When he resisted, they shot him and fled. In addition to the wounds of firearms in both legs, Hossein is now being treated at the Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine in Daki.
The incident, shot in the video, became viral and caused anger and protests throughout Daka, and the protesters demanded the resignation of Chowdhury. Between February 1 and February 26, dozens of violent crimes – including murder, rape, robbery and extortion – are reported in local media throughout the country, with terrible videos and first -hand victims circulating widely on social media.
“There were stealing and captures before, but now it’s out of limit,” said Rahmat Ullah, a rick driver in the 50s. He added that “he had never seen such a bad situation” in more than 17 years of work. His passengers were also victims of the attack, Ullah said.
“I saved the money that I earned for more than 15 to 20 days and sent it home via the bank. Now whatever I earn every day, I get home right now [via a mobile financial service]. “
Nevertheless, the government hesitated to acknowledge the crisis. Asif is opening, counselor for the Ministry of the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, he admitted to the Government’s shortcomings, but insisted that the temporary administration under Nobel Laureat Muhammad Yunus does everything he could.
“Sometimes the situation was good, sometimes extremely bad,” he said. “But let’s not bother the relentless efforts to control the situation.”
For many Banglades, these beliefs ring the hollow.
The protests broke out at university campuses, led by several student groups, especially after the wave of reported rapes throughout the country – of which Al Jazeera could independently check at least 10. The protesters requested a direct resignation of homework advisers and emergency measures to fight the worsening law.
“My parents are worried every time I go out, which is a reality for all women like me. We just want to rush through my daily life that is not raped or abducted and make it home safely without any fear,” said Eti Actor, one of the protesters, for Al Jazeera. “Life now feels more insecure than ever.”
Such uncertainty was previously associated with the “robbery” Chhatra league, the Hasina Awami League student wing, said Tanvir Rifat, another protester. Now the Awami league is more, but the crime has just grown.
“This is not Bangladesh that we hoped we would see after a mass uprising. It feels like everything could be abolished at any time,” Rifat said. He compared “Dake Streets” with Gotham, a fictional, crime that was on the crime from the Universe of DC. “But, unfortunately, we don’t have Batman.”
Tawohidul Haque, analyst of crime and associate professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research of the University of Daka, told Al Jazeera that one of the key indicators of improving the criminal situation is whether people feel at home, and while they are dating. “People don’t feel safe now,” he said.
Farisa Nusrat, a university student at Dhaki, said she was avoiding staying late. “My parents no longer allow it. Even if I stay, they call me all the time, “she said.
Many private university students from different institutions are now looking for internet teaching during Ramadan, citing security care.
Government struggles
On February 8, the Government launched an operation of Devil Hunt, a joint military and police action that was supposed to solve a wave of crime. But while more than 9,000 arrests were carried out, violent crime continues smoothly.
Mubashar Hasan, a political analyst, believes that the Provisional Government is fighting for order maintenance. “Unlike the chosen government with a unique command chain, the current administration consists of data from different backgrounds with competitive priorities,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Although there is no lack of intentions to suppress crime, their ability remains limited.”
After Chowdhury’s, the internal affairs adviser on February 24, the police arrested 248 people allegedly involved in various criminal activities in different parts of DAKE, within 24 hours.
But “arrests mean nothing if we don’t feel safe on the streets,” said Hassan, a 21-year-old student.
As fear spreads, some citizens took security into their own hands. In several quarters, the locals formed self -defense patrols, armed with sticks and sticks to reject slices. In one shocking case, two men suspects for a mushroom were beaten and hanged upside down from the Daka Bridge, a raging crowd on February 25th. On the same evening, the other suspect was beaten to death.
“This happens when people lose their faith in the implementation of the law – resort to awake justice,” said Tawohidul Haque, an associate professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research by Dhaka University.
In January alone, 16 people were killed in the violence of the mob across the country, according to the Ain of Ain O Salish Kendra.
Experts attribute to the increase in crime political unrest after Hasina removal.
“A sudden shift of power creates unrest and vacuum of power – an environment in which the laws succeed,” said Criminology Assistant Professor Sakib. “The criminals saw this instability as an opportunity, which is why the crime reached its peak.”
Sakib also pointed out that Bangladeska police, the primary law of law enforcement, struggle to regain public trust. “During the deadly protest against Hasina, the police were widely accused of violating human rights and was seen as an opponent of the people. This loss of ‘moral authority’ weakened their ability to effectively function.”
From Hasin’s removal in August, Yunus Government threw out the heads of each of the 50 Bangladesh Police Stations because they are allegedly close to Hasin’s party.
“New officers are not familiar with their allotted areas. They miss the informants and did not have time to develop a comprehensive strategy for the fight against crime, “Sakib said. All this, he added,” created a vacuum that criminals exploit. “
Another driver’s power behind the criminal wave is the release of convicted criminals – some of which were once listed as “top terror” – after a political transition, said a high metropolitan police officer Daka.
“We have reports that many of these individuals have returned to crime, reviving the old rackets of extorting and gang surgery,” said the clerk, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “We plan to complain of the cancellation of bail, but the question is that many of these criminals were full of the influence of politicians who now have power.”
Sakid said: “A mass guarantee for convicted criminals has been performed so quickly and spreads a negative message to people in society. Although this is a judicial thing, a pure speed that has been released with a terror list is alarming. Public security should have been carefully estimated before these individuals allow the streets.”
The weapon robbed during the political uprising also found its way into criminal hands, filling the armed crab. Videos of masked gangs that hold weapons have expanded fear of social media.
Hasan, a political analyst, claims that a democratically elected government would be far more effective in returning order and order.
“The political government chosen by the people will have much more strength and legitimacy,” he said.
The temporary government has yet to announce a concrete time lane for the election. However, Yunus’s printing secretary, Shafiquul Alam, told the media on February 24, that the surveys could be held by March 2026 at the latest.
But for many young Banglades, every day, without a sense of security, it feels like betrayal.
“We went to the streets last year because of a safer Bangladesh where the state will provide a standard of living, and now we are at the grace of criminals, perhaps the patron of politicians who will rule the country in the near future,” said Rifat, a protester.
“What was the point?”
