Govt must take mob violence by the horns

We strongly condemn the assault of at least four people by a crowd, rallying under the banner of “Azadi Andolon” near the National Museum gate in Dhaka’s Shahbagh area. This kind of moral policing, often weaponising religion to humiliate and attack people, has been going on for many months. Human rights organisations have recorded a horrifying number of mob attacks where victims have been killed or viciously attacked. In most of these cases, police have not taken prompt action; investigations have been too slow, with hardly any arrests, let alone punishment of the attackers.

One of the victims, The Daily Star reports, was having tea with friends at a roadside shop yesterday night, when a group of around 20 people brought out a procession in the area, chanting slogans. When the friends were about to leave, members of the group started sexually harassing them. When two of the victims tried to stop the attackers, they were all mercilessly beaten.

We would like to know how such an incident took place so close to the police station at Shahbag? What did the police do after they were aware of the incident?

The home minister has said in parliament that under the new BNP government, there will be no mob culture. But incidents of mob attacks persist. Even today, a pir was brutally killed in Kushtia's Daulatpur on allegation of religious distortion. Earlier, Prothom Alo reported on March 24, a mob of around 100 individuals vandalised a stage, musical instruments and chairs near a mazar in Sylhet’s Biswanath upazila where a traditional Baul festival was supposed to take place. Threats and attacks on Baul singers, shrines, members of religious minorities, women and other marginalised groups and individuals associated with the Awami League regime were frequent during the interim government’s tenure. The previous government’s failure to hold accountable those who instigated the mobs, even when perpetrators were clearly identified through videos and CCTV footage, emboldened these groups. This led to an uptick in mob violence, a malaise that hasn’t been eradicated even under the present government.

In January, 21 people were killed in mob beatings, up from 10 deaths recorded in December 2025, according to the Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation’s (MSF) monthly monitoring report. According to Ain O Salish Kendra, in the first two months of this year, 23 mob incidents took place in the country.

The BNP government has a responsibility to put an end to mob justice and moral policing, which has taken so many lives and continues to be a threat to society. The public loss of trust in the rule of law must be restored. The government must ensure that the police initiate an immediate and thorough investigation into yesterday's incident, identify the attackers and arrest them. This should be done for all other attacks with exemplary punishment to the culprits. With the upcoming Pahela Baishakh festivities, the government must take extra precautions to make sure public spaces are safe for everyone.