Highway robbery

The incident ended on a grisly note with at least one policeman killed when a police patrol car was rammed by the minibus controlled by the robbers, and five dacoits losing their lives in the encounter with the police. The incident has once again laid bare the vulnerability of bus passengers on the highways, particularly during nighttime.

The police action against the robbers was robust and timely. However, the report suggests that law enforcers had actually responded to a tip-off by a passenger of the minibus who was thrown out of it by the robbers. In other words, there was a surveillance failure in spotting the bus at any point of its 150-km journey from Dhaka. It is in chasing and arresting the criminals that the police demonstrated great efficiency.

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We condole the death of the policeman and laud the role of his injured colleagues who put their lives at grave risk, as they chased the armed robbers.

Now, the highway drama in Comilla was an operation carried out after a robbery. However, there is ample scope for preemptive action by the police. Intelligence reports, if gathered with a fair amount of accuracy, will help the police track down the criminals well before they get the opportunity to commit crimes. Such reports will also help the police to pounce on the network of inter-district robbers.

The formation of highway patrol police has fulfilled a long-felt need. Now they will have to be trained and equipped properly to curb crimes on the highway that have been on an upward spiral. The Comilla incident should convince the decision makers of the need to provide effective highway patrol for the security of passengers.