Once Peaceful Cumilla Now Struggles with Rising Murders

A total of 114 murders in Cumilla in the first nine months and 10 days of this year has raised serious concerns about the district’s law and order situation, according to concerned citizens. Reports of armed robberies on roads and sexual assaults in narrow lanes have left families increasingly worried about their safety. Parents are anxious whenever their children leave home. Teachers, businesspeople, service holders and other residents are asking how long the violence and fear will continue.

A total of 111 murders were recorded between January and September this year. Three more murders occurred in October, including two that drew widespread attention. The 114 killings in nine months and 10 days have raised questions about law and order, crime patterns and public safety in the district. No month during the first nine months recorded fewer than 10 murders.

Data presented at a meeting of the Cumilla District Law and Order Committee show that 14 murders occurred in January, 12 in February, 11 in March, 10 in April, 17 in May, 10 in June, 10 in July, 11 in August and 16 in September. Three more killings were recorded in October, bringing the total to 114.

Several murders in Cumilla have drawn widespread attention at both national and local levels. The victims included customs official Bullet Boiragi, who was killed near the Kotbari road on a highway; Ishayat Shahriar Oprotimo, a seventh-grade student and the child of a Cumilla University teacher, whose body was found in the Lalmai hills; and schoolgirl Jannatul Tajmin, who was killed after being raped in a paddy field in Jagatpur, Lalmai.

Other cases included the murders of Delwar Hossain Nayan and Saleh Ahmed in Aliara village of Nangalkot; expatriate worker’s wife Papia Akter Sukhi, her four-year-old son Hossain and her five-year-old nephew Zubayer at their home in Monipur village of Homna; and Enamul Haque Shishir, also known as Mahi, a third-gender person who was reportedly tortured and burned to death near Burichang Bazar.

The body of Jannatun Naim, a student of CCN University, was recovered from a residence in Manoharpur in Cumilla city. Two young auto-rickshaw drivers, Mehedi and Arman Hossain, were also murdered in Nangalkot and Monoharganj. The killings of an elder sister and her nephew in Muradnagar also sparked widespread concern.

Investigations and reports surrounding the killings have pointed to several alleged motives, including family disputes, land and property conflicts, struggles for local dominance, previous enmity, extramarital relationships, juvenile crime, drugs and the involvement of criminal gangs.

A series of murders, kidnappings, rapes, thefts, robberies and snatching incidents across the district has heightened public concern. Some alleged offenders have reportedly returned to crime after being arrested and released on bail. The growing activities of juvenile gangs in neighbourhoods have added to the concern.

Following Mr. Oprotim’s murder, police launched repeated raids to curb juvenile gangs and youth crime, bringing some relief to residents. However, representatives of civil society warned that the alleged masterminds behind these gangs remained beyond the reach of law enforcement, raising concerns that new gangs could emerge.

The murder of schoolgirl Ms. Tajmin has also prompted questions about police patrols and night-time security. Civil society representatives alleged that night patrol teams from two police stations in Sadar South and Lalmai, along with highway police, had failed to perform their duties properly along highways and regional roads.

They said police patrols were inadequate on both major roads and narrow lanes at night. According to them, the auto-rickshaw driver travelled from one place to another with the girl for nearly two hours, yet CCTV footage showed no sign of police patrol teams along the route. They argued that stronger patrols that night could have brought the driver under police questioning and potentially saved the girl’s life.

However, Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md Anisuzzaman denied that the district’s overall law and order situation had deteriorated. Speaking to the newspaper Inqilab on Monday evening, he said the murders recorded over the previous nine months and the first week of October were not linked to political dominance or leadership disputes.

He said most of the killings stemmed from family conflicts, land disputes, drugs and extramarital relationships, while one was linked to snatching. Mr. Anisuzzaman said Mr. Oprotim’s murder had attracted nationwide attention. Following the incident, police conducted coordinated raids across all 18 police stations in Cumilla and detained around 2,500 people suspected of involvement in drug-related activities and juvenile gangs. Those against whom evidence or allegations of criminal involvement were found were sent to court, while the others were handed over to their guardians after signing undertakings.

He said the extensive police operation had brought considerable relief to ordinary people and stressed that collective cooperation was necessary to control crime. Regarding Ms. Tajmin’s case, the police chief said, “If her parents had informed the police earlier that their daughter had left home, we could at least have used technology to determine her location and take action.”

He added that preventing isolated incidents of murder and other crimes required greater tolerance among people in society and within families. He also called for stronger relationships among parents, children, siblings and relatives.

Prominent residents of Cumilla said rising social instability and criminal tendencies had contributed to an increase in killings compared with previous periods. They described the situation as worrying and called for improved law enforcement, stronger police patrols and better public services at police stations so that residents’ complaints and suggestions receive proper attention. They said these measures would strengthen public safety and help reduce murders and other crimes.