Although the government and the leaders of the ruling political parties are talking about the economic development of the country i.e. GDP growth, infrastructural development, etc. the issues of safety of human life and property are being neglected. The number of members in the law enforcement agencies is increasing, their facilities, powers and scope of work are increasing, the size of the budget is increasing but their main responsibility of providing security to the people is increasingly being relaxed. People are not able to move safely in the capital city itself. Almost every day, people are being snatched, kidnapped, injured, and killed. Innocent people are losing their lives along with losing everything. A large portion of the security forces and police are deployed to secure the VIPs, Awami League leaders and ruling elites.
The rate of implementation of various promises made by the mayor of the city corporation and the concerned ministers and MPs of the government in resolving various civic crises including road congestion, waterlogging and dirt congestion is very disappointing. In the meantime, the work of several mega projects costing thousands of crores of take for the development of Dhaka is going on, but no progress has been seen in the issues of alleviating the suffering of the citizens, chaos, cleanliness and public safety. During the day, the news of snatching and robbery in the public streets is being published from time to time. In some cases, people are being snatched, harassed or tortured by the law enforcing agencies. However, the picture of the terrible insecurity in Dhaka at night has now reached a state of panic. Almost every night, pedestrians and people traveling in different parts of the city are being robbed, murdered and injured. The incident of snatching seems to have become very normal now. Many of the victims are not even keen to report or complain to the police. Some are stabbed to death by snatchers. Due to this, the picture of all the crimes committed in Dhaka at night is not available.
There are more than 50 police stations in Dhaka city, various branches of law enforcement agencies and various installations of the intelligence department active in Dhaka city. Similarly, more than two lakh members of the police force are currently active across the country to maintain law and order and ensure the safety of the common man. The deployment of law enforcement in the capital city is much higher than anywhere else in the country. But the real picture of the insecurity of the people in the capital city is the picture of the failure of the police. In today’s age of information technology, it is possible to surround the entire city with surveillance and security nets through digital technology including CCTV cameras. In this case, it is not very difficult to keep the network of security forces active in the crime prone spots of the city. But in the context of the government’s failure to provide minimum security to the common man, all visible development achievements of the government are fading, crippled – meaningless. Without the security of human life and property, uninterrupted movement and socio-political freedom and assurance of justice, only the development of infrastructure and GDP growth is worthless. Due to the criminal tendencies, professional dishonesty, and laxity of one class of police officers and members, not only the entire law enforcement agencies but also the government has to bear the responsibility for the failure in public security. Just as mega projects of infrastructural development are instilling hope in the minds of the people to alleviate the sufferings of the people, so is the growing looting, insecurity and anxiety due to insecurity. We have to ensure the safety of human life and property from the hands of criminals all over the country including Dhaka by ensuring severe punishment for them.
