DHAKA, July 15: The Awami League has criticized the Chief Advisor of the Bangladesh interim government, Muhammad Yunus, for a rise in crime rates, including brutal murders, rapes, mob lynching, extortion, and land grabs. The party claims that this surge in crime has been particularly notable since the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The party highlighted a chilling murder in Bhaluka upazila in Mymensingh district, where police found the slit-throated bodies of a mother and her two children. However, the party also criticized Yunus for claiming there is no deterioration in the law and order situation in Bangladesh.
Crime statistics from the Police Headquarters revealed a sharp rise in murder cases from January to June 2025.
In January, 294 cases were reported, while in February, it increased to 300. In March, 316 murders were reported, 338 in April, and 341 in May. Additionally, in June, there were 344 murder cases.
The brutal murder of a 43-year-old scrap trader, Lal Chand Sohag, in Dhaka over an extortion case has shocked Bangladeshis and several people around the world, who have slammed the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government for the sheer lawlessness that currently prevails in the South Asian country.
Yunus dismissed media reports raising concerns about the crime rate, stating that “only a few categories of crime have increased.” He also dismissed allegations of killings, arbitrary imprisonment on false criminal charges, unchecked mob violence, and incitement of religious violence, such as attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus and the destruction of Hindu temples.
Since the Yunus-led interim government took power in August 2024, there have been numerous unprovoked and violent attacks against journalists, police officers, minorities, and those connected with the Awami League party. No steps have yet been taken in Bangladesh to hold the perpetrators of these allegations to account. (IANS)
