Different bands of beggars and drug addicts are out on the streets, playing on people's sympathy and fear in a bizarre bid to 'earn' money.

Rickshaw and CNG autorickshaw passengers are their main targets. They use two approaches -- pouring out their feigned woes to passengers and displaying self-inflicted torture.

The money hunters wait at traffic signal posts, homing in on their unsuspecting prey. The beggars sob out the litany of how they have been deprived of food for days and lack of money for bare survival.

The addicts cut themselves with blades and knives or intimidate people with bizarre behaviour into parting with whatever money and valuables they possess.

Women are easy prey to such prowlers, as most are sympathetic. If the response is not positive, these soft targets are harassed with a flow of indecent language.

River gypsies locally known as bedes are also involved in such crime: they show snakes in small wooden boxes to scare people into giving money.

"I get across the Bangla Motor crossing every day to go to work. A woman regularly walks up to the people waiting to cross the

road and asks for money. If she doesn't get it, she shouts abuse at them," said Anisur Rahman, an employee of a media produc tion house at Eskaton.

Drug addicts gather around the Newmarket area to target vehicles at traffic signals. With v e h i cl e s si o w i n g

t h e y s c u rr y o u t and try to soften up the passengers with tales of sorrow.

"I am scared of them. I cannot tolerate slang or see blood. So I give money. This is simply mugging," said Hasna Begum, a resident student of Dhaka University.

A similar scene is played out at the Matsay Bhaban crossing like other traffic signal points in the city.

Criminals use other methods too: they carry foul pictures on — them and demand money. People who want to get rid of the criminals give money and send them away. Many autorickshaw and rickshaw users lost their handbags and wallets to them in case they do not give them money.

"I was once simply mugged," said Tajul Islam, a lawyer of the High Court.

Users of Tikatuli crossing are frequent victims of such incidents too. "There are no-one to protect us from this nuisance," said Mustafizur Rahman, a small business owner at Hatkhola Road.

"No-one has so far complained about these incidents. We sometimes observe odd verbal clashes at signal points and think it a usual quarrel between beggars and passengers," said Sajjad Hossain, a traffic sergeant.

"Social inequity, unrest and absence of moral values give rise to this type of menace," said Dr ASM Atikur Rahman, professor of the Institute of Social Welfare and Research of Dhaka University.

"It is crime. Police should take serious steps to curb it."