Dhaka: Bangladesh’s law-and-order situation has witnessed a marked deterioration since August 2024 with mob violence, extortion, looting and various crimes across the country going largely unchecked, a report said on Monday.
It added that after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government assumed office in 2024, mob attacks on Bangladesh police personnel have persisted, resulting in casualties, widespread fear and severe mental stress among officers.
According to a report in Bangladesh’s leading newspaper Daily Sun, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite unit of the Bangladesh police that once reassured ordinary citizens and instilled fears among terrorists, extortionists and drug traffickers — no longer commands the same deterrence.
“Amid various controversies, the force has become largely subdued. The elite unit has lost its former shine, and its members no longer show the same zeal. Recently, the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances and several international human rights organisations recommended the dissolution of RAB. As a result, many members of RAB are demoralised. Many are now anxious about whether continuing to serve in RAB might lead to problems for them in the future,” the report detailed.
“Most people are more or less aware of RAB’s internal and external situation. Yet many fail to understand a basic truth: the crimes of a few individuals should never be attributed to an entire force. Over the past one and a half years, criticism from influential quarters has rendered the whole force ineffective. The fear that terrorists and criminals once had of RAB no longer exists,” it added.
The report stressed that over 500 cases have been registered for attacks on and harassment of police, though the real scale of incidents is believed to be considerably higher. Since August 5 2024, it said, top terrorists released from jail have re-emerged and are growing increasingly dangerous, backed by political patronage ahead of the February election in Bangladesh.
With the campaigning for the February 12 elections in Bangladesh having begun, the report said, “With such a fragile law-and-order situation, people doubt how peaceful the campaign will be. The public is worried, anxious and fearful. There is no magic formula for improving law and order – no instant spell that can fix the situation overnight. It is a continuous process. How effective the measures taken over the past one and a half years have been is open to question.”
“Mob groups, terrorists and extortionists have turned into monsters under the patronage of powerful interests, and in many cases, criminals have gone unpunished. There is no reason to believe that terrorists will suddenly become virtuous ahead of the election. Rather, they may become even more dangerous,” it noted.
(IANS)
