Star replies to CA press wing’s Facebook post
FROM PAGE 2
According to the data used by the press wing, there were 74 “dosyuta” cases from September to November this year, compared to 72 during the same three-month period in 2023.
The Daily Star did not include the number of cases filed over mugging incidents in August as the police barely functioned following the fall of the Awami League regime. In the aftermath of the July uprising, police stations in the capital were either left in ruins or vacant for a significant period.
In the absence of police, the robbery and mugging incidents saw a sharp rise in August, with the army having to respond to distress calls of city dwellers. Neighbourhoods also formed nightwatch committees to guard themselves through the night.
The data used in The Daily Star report came from an assistant commissioner at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, who wished to remain unnamed citing the “sensitive nature of the matter”.
He told this newspaper that police record cases in connection with mugging incidents under two separate laws -- the Penal Code and the Speedy Trial Act.
Cases are registered under the Speedy Trial Act when a person is caught red-handed in the act or when there has been a snatching incident.
And when less than five people are alleged to have been involved in a mugging or robbery incident, the case is filed under the Penal Code. Police call these “dosyuta” cases.
The official supplied the number of cases filed under both laws, and thus the number stood at 96 in three months -- from September to November this year.
Naturally, there were other cases filed under these two laws; however, The Daily Star specifically sought the number of cases filed exclusively over mugging incidents from the assistant commissioner.
Of the 22 cases filed over mugging incidents in September, 14 were under the Penal Code and eight under the Speedy Trial Act.
Of the 43 such cases in October, 20 were filed under the Penal Code and 23 under the Speedy Trial Act.
Of the 31 mugging cases in November, 27 were filed under the Penal Code and four under the Speedy Trial Act.
The DMP official provided the data to The Daily Star via WhatsApp messages.
The officer went on to mention that the actual number of mugging incidents would likely be much higher as many such incidents went unreported, while many file general diaries instead of cases, citing lost items to avoid legal hassles.
As the CA press wing contested The Daily Star report, this paper talked to the assistant commissioner again. The police official said the press wing possibly counted only the cases filed under Penal Code, not under Speedy Trial Act.
Meanwhile, the authorities themselves, on multiple occasions, admitted that the incidents of mugging and snatching have significantly increased recently.
At a programme on December 21, a day before the report was published, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said mugging incidents have increased recently and that the muggers mainly target mobile phones.
“You have to take care of your mobile phones and handbags when you are walking on the street or shopping or having snacks on the streets,” he said, drawing attention to foreign students present at the programme.
On December 15, Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury also said the muggings have increased in the city and that such incidents occurred mainly in the early hours.
After careful examination, we have decided to stand by our report.