Businessmen living in fear

The businessmen are in a dire strait. For fear of reprisals from the known criminals, they cannot name names and lodge cases with the police authorities. Already, the hooligans have held out threats with the result that the businessmen have felt insulated. What they find more scary is that the police and the professional extortionists are allegedly hand-in-gloves with each other. This is a serious matter that must be urgently gone into and remedial measures taken.

Illegal toll collection has been a routine affair in old Dhaka. But during festival times, the roguery exacerbates. It takes a terrible form centring around sacrificial animal markets. The greed for money equals the gluttony in prospect. Petty crimes like snatching and mugging are abandoned for the sake of hefty takings. The old Dhaka businessmen irate and panicky by the constant flow of extortionist demands for what might be termed as 'protection money' have expressed their disgust over the administration's handling of the situation.

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The businessmen are plagued not merely by the risks to their lives but also by threats to their bread-earning avocations and trades. Unimpeded monetary transactions are the life-blood of an economy. Under no circumstances these should be allowed to be disrupted. We urge the authorities to step up vigil in old Dhaka and adequately beef up security there.