Law, order and citizen security must be ensured
The remains of four members of the same family were recently found in a three-storied house in Rangpur city’s Kamalkachna neighbourhood, causing shockwaves of sorrow and fear across the neighbourhood. At first, it was thought that the victims, including Ganapati Chakraborty, a former Rangpur Zilla School teacher, his wife, daughter, and son, were the victims of a robbery. But at a briefing, police disclosed that the victims’ opposition to local drug use led to the terrible killings. Two young people, Mugdha Das and Siddhartha Das, have admitted to the heinous murders and have been arrested in relation to the crime. Locals are shocked by this horrifying statement of using drugs at the place where Chakraborty’s family members were murdered.
This tragic event is part of a larger, concerning decline in law and order in Bangladesh. From the capital to regional cities like Chattogram, Khulna, and several rural villages, murder incidents- from single-victim killings to multi-victim family tragedies- have become nearly regular occurrences. The seriousness of the problem is shown by official police statistics, which indicate that thousands of murder cases have been filed countrywide in recent months. Violent crimes, muggings, and targeted killings have sharply increased in places like Mohammadpur in Dhaka, Raozan in Chattogram, and metropolitan Khulna. These incidents create a danger to public safety and show that common people are no longer safe even in their own homes.
Beyond fatalities, a steep increase in violence against women and children, rape, theft, robbery, extortion, land grabbing, and the destructive domination of youth gangs are all seriously stressing society. Unstoppable drug trafficking, especially the cross-border invasion of Yaba and other illegal drugs, continues to drive unending conflicts over supremacy and destruction. Moreover, an increasing amount of weaponry, the regular finding of explosives, and new threats- such as extortion demands sent via email to foreign embassies like China- indicate a widespread conspiracy that aims to paralyse state administration and throw the nation into chaos.
These coordinated disturbances, according to observers and political analysts, are part of an intentional attempt by expelled political groupings to destabilise the country and undermine the present interim administration. These security risks are exacerbated by the nation’s ongoing, severe, multifaceted economic crisis. Both residential regions and industrial activity have been disrupted by acute fuel, gas and power shortages, and critical economic indicators are still mostly negative. Household stoves are still unlit, while industrial establishments find it difficult to continue operating in the face of severe power outages.
Declining overseas orders, falling export volumes, and extensive plant closures are some of the extraordinary issues facing the industrial sector, especially the crucial ready-made garment industry that is the main source of export revenue. Hundreds of thousands of industrial workers are now unemployed and destitute as hundreds of enterprises have already closed. The public is currently experiencing severe financial hardship as a result of unchecked inflation and soaring commodity prices, making it difficult for people to get necessities like gas, electricity, water, and fertiliser in addition to everyday necessities.
Without a reliable, consistent energy supply and strong infrastructure, the government’s declared objectives to boost investment, industrialisation, and commerce would fail. Restoring the national economy’s vitality is a top goal, but officials are still hampered by ingrained logistical and systemic obstacles. Public dissatisfaction reaches a breaking point when residents are burdened by high living expenses while also dealing with a deteriorating security system where crime is widespread. There is never a situation in which the safety of common people is placed at risk.
Ultimately, public security and the national economy are the two most significant concerns facing the country today. Restoring absolute law and order, protecting citizens, and revitalising the financial sector are all necessary for national stability, according to experts and leaders of civil society. The administration must take a zero-tolerance strategy against crime syndicates, prevent both internal and external destabilisation schemes, and make the police force actively accountable to the people in order to succeed when failure is not an option.
