Amid the prevailing doom and gloom over the worsening cost-of-living crisis, the administration has offered news that could be encouraging. According to a press release on the fifth meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs, held on October 15, official statistics “indicated a notable improvement” in the country’s law-and-order situation. The press release has also added that committee members “expressed satisfaction” with the reported improvement.
Isn’t it a wonderful relief to know, from these statements, that we are now better protected against the threat of random crime? The situation has apparently improved to such an extent that our elected representatives are satisfied. Could it mean that anyone can now venture out onto the streets without having to worry about being mugged, or that no one would turn up at our homes or offices demanding money in the name of donations or protection? Should parents rest assured that gang members will not put drugs into their children’s hands, or that no one would dare to sexually harass or assault their daughters?
Alas, less than 48 hours after the committee meeting, Ishraque Hossain, a now-former junior minister regarded by many within BNP as a rising star, led an anti-drug “operation” in his constituency while openly brandishing a firearm. Ishraque, whose conduct has often attracted controversy in the past, later sought to explain his activities. He said that residents of the area had repeatedly complained about local drug trade, adding: “I have held meetings with the police at least 30 to 40 times. They give different explanations each time, saying they lack manpower and vehicles.” But his justification for taking the law into his own hands raises an uncomfortable question: whose version of the law-and-order reality should we believe—the parliamentary standing committee or a prominent ruling party politician?
Ishraque undoubtedly has questions to answer about how he conducted himself that day. Nevertheless, some of his observations cannot be dismissed. The police have yet to recover fully from the violent aftermath of the 2024 uprising and remain inadequately equipped to confront drug dealers, some of whom do not hesitate to shoot at officers from a distance. If the police are indeed struggling with manpower, transport, and operational capacity, that is a serious concern. But how can the administration then claim that law and order has improved significantly when those responsible for enforcing the law are themselves struggling to maintain control?
Moreover, figures presented at the standing committee meeting, according to several newspapers, offer little ground for complacency. Between January and September this year, the Department of Narcotics Control reportedly conducted 82,626 anti-drug operations, filing 25,021 cases against 26,270 accused persons. Drug-related cases rose by approximately 37 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2025. These are staggering numbers. They mean that anti-drug enforcement officers conducted an average of more than 300 operations every day over the nine-month period. For parents worried about their children’s exposure to drugs, such statistics are anything but reassuring; they are more likely to send their blood pressure soaring.
Some other crime figures presented at the meeting are equally troubling. Reported rape cases rose sharply in 2026, with a total of 5,381 cases recorded between January and September—an increase of approximately 31 percent over the same period last year, which translates into an average of nearly 20 cases every day. Third-quarter figures, covering July to September, showed an even steeper increase of 55.4 percent, suggesting a further deterioration. Meanwhile, cases involving burglary and forced entry, theft and illegal firearms have also increased.
The home ministry’s statistics did show improvements in some categories, notably murder, robbery, kidnapping, mob violence, and attacks on police. But these figures must be treated with caution. Complaints that police stations refuse or fail to register cases of burglary and robbery are common. Did the ministry’s murder count include those 379 bodies that were recovered by the river police between January and August? If crimes go unrecorded, official statistics may paint a more reassuring picture than the reality experienced by victims.
Recent crackdowns on juvenile gangs in several districts have exposed another longstanding problem. Many of these gangs are involved in petty crimes, including phone snatching, harassment of girls, burglary, drug peddling, etc. The tragic killing of Oprotim, the 13-year-old son of a university teacher in Cumilla, in September, brought the growing problem of juvenile criminality into sharp focus.
The media have also extensively reported grave crimes committed by organised gangs, including kidnapping, extortion, and murder linked to territorial control and rivalries. The impact of these groups on local communities is amply evident in places like Jungle Salimpur in Sitakunda and Khulna city. A joint-forces operation reportedly restored a degree of normalcy in Jungle Salimpur. Khulna, however, continues to struggle with the influence of rival gangs, with police officers being advised against going out alone after dark.
During my recent visits there, local journalists told me that gang members sometimes notify the police in advance of their planned activities and even occasionally announce them through Facebook. Such warnings can effectively signal that law enforcement personnel should keep away from designated areas for a specified period. If these accounts are accurate, they point to a deeply troubling reality: criminal gangs are not merely committing offences but are also asserting their ability to dictate where and when the police can operate.
Police reluctance to enter crime hotspots is not confined to these two districts. It appears to be part of a broader pattern in which their lack of vehicles, equipment and operational capacity leaves the force more inclined to respond after crimes occur than to prevent them or confront perpetrators in the act. This could also help explain why the police appear more successful in apprehending, for example, alleged members of the banned Awami League than in dealing with vigilante groups that organise mob violence and take the law into their own hands. Police inaction or reluctance to respond to allegations of extortion and land grabbing involving members of the ruling party has also become a recurring concern.
Against this backdrop, the parliamentary standing committee’s satisfaction with the law-and-order situation seems detached from the realities experienced by ordinary citizens. Rising rape and drug-related cases, the growing influence of juvenile and organised gangs, allegations of selective policing, and the apparent inability of law enforcement agencies to confront certain criminal groups all pose real threats to people’s safety and security.
Some crime indicators may have indeed improved. But a fundamental question is whether citizens actually feel safer, whether they can rely on the police when threatened, and whether the law is enforced impartially against the powerful as well as the powerless. For those who have experienced extortion, robbery, harassment or violence—or who fear that their loved ones may become victims of crime—the difference between official statistics and everyday reality is profound. The ministry’s reassuring assessment means little to them.
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