In the bustling industrial hub of Gazipur, fear now comes with the setting sun. Once a symbol of progress, the city of 3.5 million people and an industrial hub has now turned into a landscape of surging crime. Still a recent probe by the Police Headquarters even branded the law and order “very poor”, and quoted a high incidence of theft, mugging and robbery.
But the people of Gazipur are living that grim future. Police said on August 16 Ashik Chowdhury, a medical representative, was robbed of cash and two handsets by ‘passengers’ in an autorickshaw. Only nine days ago, journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin, was mercilessly killed after he captured footage of muggers in the act. These are not isolated incidents, but part of a frightening pattern spreading throughout the city.
A Community Under Siege
There is a perception among the citizenry that the presence of law enforcement has waned, empowering criminals to operate with impunity. The allegations are denied by the authorities but not according to the locals. They bemoan the lack of patrols and checkpoints, and they note that much crime — muggings, abductions, and others — now takes place during broad daylight.
The problem is more severe in 19 such “high-risk” points in different corners of the city including Gazipur Chandona Chowrasta, Tongi Bridge, Bhogra Bypass. In these boiling zones, muggers, generally young men and teenagers, work openly with self-assuredness. They surround rickshaws and grab phones and jewellery through bus windows – and if met with resistance, they are violent. College student Mahfuzur Rahman was killed on July 11 when he tried to resist a mugging and was repeatedly stabbed.
Official police figures have reported 34 incidents of robbery and mugging between February and July this year, compared with 26 in the six months before that. But experts and residents say the real numbers are much higher. Most are not reported for fear of harassment and inconvenience, so the true scale of the issue is known.
The Root of the Problem
Unemployment is a prominent reason behind the crime wave, claimed Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Nazmul Karim Khan. He cites the recent shut down of 72 industrial units that put some 200,000 people out of work. Some have fled the city; others have stayed, and some are said to be resorting to crime in order to get by.
And a long-running problem of extortion and political meddling are adding to the chaos. Everybody from footpath vendors to big factories are extorted in the rackets, and there are charges that local politicians frequent ignore the criminals. When a reporter went to Sahapara to cover an extortion attempt, he was beaten and a video of the assault circulated widely on social media.
Some counter action Taken on police side but many feel that political patronage makes it impossible to completely bust these criminal rackets, for instance, six extortionists were arrested in the Bhogra Bypass area this week.
Student protests have arisen in response to the city’s increasing problems. On 25 February, students from different colleges and schools blocked Dhaka–Mymensingh Highway and insisted in prompt response to the increasing crime.
Gazipur is in the grip of a climate of fear, and residents and community leaders are demanding immediate, coordinated action. As one leader observed, “If law and order doesn’t improve, what will be the value of the sacrifice of 2024?” The question lingers over a city shaken from its sense of security and struggling to find a path forward.