The tough stance of the government proved futile as the city's crime curve for January rose alarmingly.

A total of 40 people were murdered in the capital city last month, as against 33 in January 2001, 19 in January 2000 and 18 in January in 1999.

Of the 40, 16 were shot dead, eight beaten to death and eight stabbed or clubbed to death. Six had their throat slit, a minor girl was raped and killed, and one person was killed in crossfire.

According to the areawise distribution of the murders, four people each were murdered in Shyampur, Khilgaon and Motijheel, three each in Mirpur, Demra, Tejgaon and Mohammadpur, two each in Sutrapur, Kotwali, Ramna and Lalbagh, and one each in Dhanmondi, Badda, Pallabi, Sabujbagh, Cantonment, Kafrul, Uttara and GRP areas.

Victims include an industrialist, a small trader, a student, a butcher and a salesman, and businessmen, political activists, housewives, housemaids, suspected muggers, and terrorists.

January's most sensational murder was the killing of industrialist Mohammad Alam along with his three housemaids at his Alambagh residence on the night of January 1.

Another sensational murder was that of three suspected muggers who were beaten and burned to death by a mob in the city's busiest Motijheel commercial area on January 28. The three victims Iqbal Hossain, Tapan Mahmood and Zinnat Kha had allegedly shot two employees of a private firm BD Corporation and snatched Tk. 2.60 lakh from them.

The incidents of mugging increased rapidly in the capital in the last few months. On the other hand, deaths from mob beating also increased dramatically with a total of 25 suspected muggers being beaten to death by mobs in December, which is the highest such incidence since independence.

Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury talking to newsmen this week admitted that incidents of mugging and extortion were on the rise but pointed out unemployment, deportation of workers from foreign countries and economic recession as the main causes behind it.

He also claimed that better results were emerging as the right policemen were put in the right place, adding that the situation is unlike before when police, due to political ties of criminals, didn't either dare arrest them or didn't charge them under proper section of the penal code.

Sources however countered the home minister's remark by saying that police's utter failure in arresting criminals is causing the serious law and order situation. The same set of criminals is repeating their crimes as they go unchallenged, they said.

Police on the other hand claimed that they could not take proper action against criminals as they belonged to either of the two major political parties.

The Cabinet Committee on Law and Order in its eighth meeting on December 26 announced rewards for the arrest of 23 top terrors of the capital. But no arrests have yet been made.