Editorial
Crime and extortion, as Eid approaches
More police vigilance is called for
THE police department informs us that highway patrolmen have of late been keeping a lookout for criminal activities in the guise of traders at different points across the country. They are equipped with video cameras, which of course will come handy in identifying and nabbing those indulging in crime. Citizens have also been informed that these policemen in disguise have not spotted any of their fellow law enforcers engaging in extortion or any similar activity. Traders, at least some of them, have a different story to tell, though. As they note, they yet have to monetarily gratify a number of policemen, and at various points of their long journey before they can reach the capital. One certainly must wait to hear the police version of the story.
Meanwhile, disturbing reports of a rise in crime continue to come in. It appears that in the run-up to Eid ul Fitr, instances of extortion and attempted mugging have gone up, particularly in different parts of the nation's capital. It is particularly around markets and shopping malls that organized criminal gangs have been trying to operate. The good news, though, is that stepped up vigilance by the law enforcers has quite blunted the activities of these elements. Obviously, such security precautions have brought about a certain sense of relief for citizens. The point now is to make sure that such measures are sustained and indeed become a regular feature of life for residents of Dhaka city. But for people to feel reassured about security, it is hugely important that concerted action be taken where extortion is concerned. If mugging on the streets has been checked to some extent by the vigilance of the police, RAB and other agencies, extortion has not. The very fact that policemen have been deployed to guard furniture establishments in the city points to the organized way in which criminal gangs have now begun to operate. There are too the demands for money made over the phone, a method of operation which cannot but leave intended victims feeling ill protected or not protected at all. On top of it all, the reported failure or reluctance of officers at the police stations to take victims' statements and follow it up with action is dismaying. The recent instance of an Iranian woman getting robbed and beaten up by a gang of muggers in a taxi is a case in point.
The bottomline is that while certain security measures, such as increased vigilance in the markets and use of dog squads to identify contraband on various modes of transport, have struck some degree of fear among criminal elements, much more remains to be done. A sustained, no-holds barred operation against crime is a necessity if people are to breathe a little easier.
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