Criminals stage a comeback

The criminals like gangsters, terrorists, robbers and muggers, who went hiding before the elections, have made their comeback in full force these days-- much to the concern of the common citizen.

The alarming rise in robbery, mugging, murder and other crimes reflects not only the present law and order situation but also creates sense of insecurity among the people.

"We spent few good days during the CCC election, felt secure and began believing in the ability of our law enforcement agencies. But the scenario has changed rapidly after the election and we are grimly worried what is going on around in the city now," said Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed.

At least nine people were killed in last one month in the city. Garment businessman Mohsin Riasat Sobhan went missing on May 7 and his body was recovered in the morning of CCC polls day from southern bank of the river Karnaphuli.

Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BGMEA) leaders met the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) officials and urged them to transfer the case to detective branch to trace the killers. The DB police could not make any headway to the murder so far.

Armed robbers shot one Monsoor Alam at East Shamsherpara under Chandgaon Police Station on June 3 as he tried to resist them. The gang took away gold ornaments and cash worth around Tk 2 lakh at gunpoint.

Traders observed a weeklong agitation to protest the rise in mugging and robbery in the Sadarghat area.

About seven incidents of mugging took place in 16 days from May 14, in which Tk 51 lakh was looted.

A cattle trader was mugged of Tk 7 lakh at Panjabi Lane area under Pahartali Police Station on May 29.

Muggers took away Tk 22 lakh at gunpoint from a businessman at Kadamtali under Doublemooring Police Station on May 28 and in another incident the same day Tk 1.95 lakh, salaries of a tea garden staffs and employees, was looted. On May 26, miscreants looted goods and Tk 1 lakh in cash from staffs of M/S Tradecom, a dealer of softdrink company Coca Cola.

Miscreants snatched Tk 1.40 lakh from a Grameen Phone sales executive at Nasirabad area on May 19. The GP executive was going to deposit the money in a bank. On May 17, armed muggers took away Tk 11.30 lakh from the officials of a garments factory at Goods Hill under Kotwali Police Station. Miscreants looted Tk6.66 lakh from the staffs of a food supply agency at Customs Crossing under Bandar Police Station on May 14.

Meanwhile, the BGMEA leaders at a view exchange meeting with CMP Mazedul Haque expressed their concern at the deteriorating law and order situation and urged him to check the crime spree.

"We noticed with deep regret that in a span of few days, eight murders occurred (till June 2) in the city while number of robbery or mugging was more than 10 in which over Tk 50 lakh was looted," BGMEA First Vice President MA Salam said. "It also made our foreign buyers concerned," he added.

He expressed frustration over failure of police in finding out any clue yet for the murder of Al Falah Fashion Apparels Executive Director Mohsin Riasat Sobhan, killed in early May.

The CMP has identified 53 crime points in the city for surprise checking in association with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), sources said.