Unabated Killings in Capital: Dhaka’s Alarming Descent into Lawlessness

Another grisly murder rocked the capital in the early hours of Sunday, when a young man named Ariful Islam Babu was hacked to death at Dayaganj in Gendaria of Old Dhaka. Ariful was brutally attacked with sharp weapons by five to six local criminals—Robin, Shahin, Masud, Kader and others—allegedly due to a longstanding feud.

Just a day earlier, on 26 July, another young man, Fazle Rabbi Sumon, was stabbed to death in front of the Intellectuals’ Graveyard in Mohammadpur. Sumon, a hardware shop employee, was killed when a local thug named Munna attempted to snatch his mobile phone. Sumon's sister, Tania Akter, recounted how her brother succumbed to stab wounds during the assault.

On 23 July, in the Shapla Square area near the Signboard locality in Demra, a youth named Md. Soadul Islam Soad was beaten to death by a mob over allegations of mobile phone theft inside an under-construction building named ‘Al Aqsa Tower’.

Earlier on 16 July, within just an hour, two more brutal killings occurred in Mohammadpur and Adabor. At around 7:00 PM, a man named Al-Amin was hacked to death in the Chand Udyan area following a personal dispute. An hour later, another youth named Ibrahim was gunned down in front of his residence in Nabodoy Housing.

These five incidents are not isolated. Dhaka is witnessing an alarming frequency of murders over seemingly trivial matters. The grief of losing loved ones has cast a heavy shadow over countless families across the city.

According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) headquarters, 217 people were murdered in the capital in just the first six months of 2025. The monthly breakdown reveals 36 murders in January, 38 in February, 33 in March, 29 in April, 32 in May, and a staggering 49 in June. This data points to an average of more than one murder per day.

Police sources cite extortion, petty disputes, turf wars, and past enmities as the primary causes behind these killings.

Dr Touhidul Haque, Associate Professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research at the University of Dhaka and a noted sociologist and crime expert, emphasised the urgency of swift action by law enforcement agencies. "Regardless of the cause, the authorities must respond immediately. Those involved must be arrested and brought to justice without delay. Only exemplary punishment will deter others from engaging in such crimes,” he said.

DMP’s Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations), S N Md Nazrul Islam, stated, “We rush to the scene immediately after a murder is reported. Cases are being filed, and all suspects are being arrested and brought under the law. No one involved in a crime is spared.”

However, he acknowledged a recurring problem: many offenders, even after being sent to jail through the courts, return on bail and reoffend. This cycle of crime continues, fuelling public insecurity and eroding confidence in the justice system.

In a city plagued by growing lawlessness and unchecked violence, urgent and systemic reform is needed to restore public safety—and prevent Dhaka from spiralling further into chaos.