THERE are many who describe Dhaka as a city of murder…. Gruesome murders are continuing to take place frequently in the capital. In the latest incident police recovered the dead body of [the] … son of [a] renowned journalist … from a residential hotel in Shegunbagicha area of the city on Friday…. A trader was [also] killed by muggers in Keraniganj on Friday.

According to a report … 120 people were killed in residential hotels of the city during the last five years. This figure shows that … hotels of the capital are safe havens for … criminals…. The situation is not better in the areas adjacent to the capital either. According to a report … 18 dead bodies were recovered by police from Gazipur district in … January this year. Moreover, 42 cases of abduction and disappearance were filed there over the last three months. Home Minister Sahara Khatun is fond of claiming that [the] law and order situation was now better than any time before. But the grim reality remains that law and order has nosedived … in Dhaka…. Hardly a day passes … without killing…. The law-enforcing agencies seem to be passive onlookers….

The country is virtually turning into a valley of death as there is no security of life anywhere. The deterioration of the law and order situation … is causing serious concern among the public as well as the administration…. Special drives were launched to nab criminals … but the situation is yet to improve. Against this backdrop, the government should deal with the law and order situation more stringently to ensure security of lives and property of the people. Stern measures must be taken against the offenders irrespective of their party affiliation to reassure the people that the government is not ready to spare anybody if found engaged in criminal activities….—(Feb 5)