Home Ministry Fails to Act as Extortion, Illegal Firearms Run Rampant

Sakhawat Hossain

Poor monitoring, weak teamwork among law enforcers and lack of leadership are the reasons for this problem. Regular searches and more intelligence watch have not reduced the power of illegal arms holders and extortion. Illegal firearms are used more and more in murder, attempted murder, snatching and extortion across the country. Raids by law enforcers recover arms, but suppliers, shooters and members of buying and selling rings stay out of reach. This raises fear about the source and supply network of illegal arms.

Extortionists also take money from footpaths, kitchen markets, sand fields, internet and cable connections, factories, offices, schools and shopping malls. There is a sick race to take control of small and big businesses and to extort from them. Very few extortion complaints reach police stations, and few cases are filed. Most victims do not file cases because they fear for their lives. The Home Ministry fails to bring back the chain of command in the police. It also fails to give proper monitoring and direction to control crimes like extortion and murder. The distance between the Home Ministry and field level police and other agencies is clear. This dims the success of the government.

One review found that police found proof in 85 percent of extortion cases in different Dhaka police stations. Police also filed charge sheets in these cases. But many cases see no trial start even after years. This picture came from a study of extortion and land grabbing cases in 50 Dhaka police stations. A Dhaka Metropolitan Police count lists about 1,280 known extortionists in Dhaka. Of them, 148 carry arms.

Intelligence sources say top criminals hold full control behind the reckless extortion in Dhaka. Extortionists also act freely under the shelter of local political leaders and workers. But known extortionists no longer appear in public. Political leaders and workers and top criminals mostly work together to extort. Teenage gang members follow their orders.

Extortionists are now very clever. In the gaps of the law, a person under 18 is treated as a child. So a crime at this age can easily go unpunished. Known extortionists therefore use teenage gang members as tools to extort. Political leaders and criminals give them all kinds of help. They give them courage, arms and even legal help.

Crime experts say new faces join extortion in Dhaka all the time. These new faces come under the control of known extortionists. But the most dangerous are the armed extortionists. They scare people with arms and demand money. If people do not pay, they do not wait to cause harm. Out of fear of arms, many people quietly pay.

In most cases, even the local police and nearby people do not learn of it. Recently, one extortion and land grabbing case after another has happened in Dhaka. Yet police cannot bring known extortionists under the law. Police have lists of extortionists but cannot act against them.

Crime experts also say that when extortion and other crimes rise in an area, Home Ministry Secretary Mr. Manzur Morshed Chowdhury and other officers stay inactive. They do not find the cause or take steps. Police Headquarters and top officers make show visits and end their duty with media briefings. So law and order does not improve, and no action is taken against criminals. Law and order cannot be kept under control while illegal arms stay in the hands of terrorists.

Crime expert Dr. Touhidul Haque said police made lists of snatchers and extortionists for a long time. Police arrested some of them in raids as per the lists. But there is never a list of those who gain from these crimes. He said it is also not possible to arrest or bring all listed people under the law. He said if police act against some and not others, that sets a bad example and cannot control the situation.

Sources say that while Dhaka was loud with talk of extortion and land grabbing, expelled Jubo Dal leader Mr. Ferdous Ahmed Saimon hit a young man on the head with a firearm. He became a topic of talk. Saimon is a terror in the Bangla Motor and New Eskaton Road area. He did not only hit one person with a weapon. He also fired many blank rounds during the incident and spread fear in the area. Soon after, police and SRB members surrounded the whole area. It took five hours to arrest him.

Victim Mr. Sohan filed a case. In that case, Saimon and two of his aides were arrested, and they are now in police remand. There is a claim that he even threatened police and several locals while in police custody. This has already gone viral on social media. Police and locals said Saimon ran the world of extortion and crime.

In the last 10 days, attacks and vandalism took place at the Radda health centre in Mirpur, Shyamoli Housing in Adabor, and Chand Udyan in Mohammadpur. They also took place at a housing project near ECB Chattar in Mirpur. There is also a claim of an attack on a madrasa in Ashulia. There were also clashes, vandalism and arson over the footpath eviction drive in Mirpur.

The causes of these incidents differ. In some places, it was a dispute over control of property. In some, it was a claim of extortion demand. In some, it was a clash over a government eviction drive. But questions remain. How well does early risk spotting work? How fast do police respond after getting news? How well is safety kept afterwards in cleared or disputed places?

Human rights activist Mr. Abu Ahmed Faizul Kabir said several organised attacks in a few days in the capital are very worrying. He said people need a clear and trusted answer on why such big gatherings, planning and organising did not come under early law and order and intelligence watch. He said fear of land grabbing, eviction and attacks harms the normal life and sense of safety of citizens.

He said no person or group can take the law in their own hands to evict, grab or scare anyone. He said a fair inquiry is needed to find out who was involved and how they organised. It must also find out whether any authority failed in its duty. He said the state’s duty is not only to act after an event. It is also the state’s basic duty to spot risk early and keep citizens safe.

DMP Additional Commissioner Mr. Osman Gani said police took action on the incidents in Mirpur, Mohammadpur and other areas. He said cases were filed, accused people were arrested and several raids were held. He said it cannot be said that such incidents will stop fully in society. But he said police run raids regularly. After one incident, police ran raids all night, and later arrested an accused from Mohammadpur. He said the raids continue.

A recent report by an intelligence agency, sent to the top level of the government, gives another picture. It says Awami League linked extortion syndicates vanished overnight after the political change in 2024. But extortion did not stop for even one day. Instead, some dishonest political leaders and workers known as BNP linked, and professional criminal rings, took hold easily in the field empty of Awami League. Extortion also began again in the name of July movement coordinators and student leaders.

Earlier this year, a clash over extortion and control led to a murder. Unknown attackers shot dead Mr. Azizur Rahman Musabbir, former general secretary of the Swechchhasebak Dal Dhaka North City unit. After the incident, angry traders held human chains and other programmes. They demanded that extortion stop for good and that criminals be arrested. But nothing has changed till today. Instead, criminals in the name of leaders and workers of different political parties come and go, and extortion at every ghat has grown.