Sitting ducks

Khamin writes about the alarming increase in incidents of mugging all over Dhaka during ramadan
Rehana Parvin, a housewife and resident of Gulshan, returned home shocked and traumatised on the afternoon of August 18.

Three muggers on a motorbike, who blocked her rickshaw on her way home from shopping near Nodda bazaar, fled the scene after snatching her ornaments and cellphone. However, she was in for a surprise when a policeman called her home to inform her that she can pick up her belongings from the Gulshan police station.

At the station, she learnt that following her mugging incident, Awami League MP Abdur Razzaque’s jeep carrying only Mohammad Hemayetuddin, his personal bodyguard, and the jeep’s driver, chased the muggers. When the jeep blocked the motorcycle’s path, one of the muggers, named Badal, shot at the jeep. Hemayet returned fire striking Badal in the neck.

Badal died on spot while his companion, Sultan, was apprehended by the public, roughed up and then handed over to the police. The third criminal managed to get away.

Although Parvin happily filed the case and returned home with her belongings, most residents of Dhaka and the other cities of Bangladesh are not as fortunate as her, as incidents of mugging are alarmingly on the rise in these cities especially during the month of ramadan when almost everyone is busy shopping for clothing items, household items and even groceries.