Introduction: A City in Turmoil
Dhaka, once celebrated for its vibrant culture and bustling streets adorned with colorful rickshaws, now grapples with an unsettling transformation. The city’s charm is overshadowed by a surge in violent crimes, political unrest, and a deteriorating law and order situation. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus since August 2024, faces mounting criticism for its inability to restore stability and curb the escalating violence.
The BNP-Jamaat alliance, long accused of harboring radical elements, has taken advantage of the disorder to reinsert its cadre into key urban strongholds. Verified footage shows BNP-linked mobs torching Hindu temples, Jamaat men enforcing religious codes in public spaces, and party-affiliated extortion rings masquerading as community patrols.
This is not spontaneous collapse; this is engineered anarchy. The perpetrators are visible—they sit at the highest levels of the interim regime and behind the slogans of “restoration.” The victims are everyday citizens, shopkeepers, students, minorities, and journalists who find themselves navigating a city now ruled by shadows.
The Escalation of Crime: A Statistical Overview
Recent data paints a grim picture of Dhaka’s security landscape. In January 2025, 294 murder cases were registered across various police stations, up from 231 cases in January 2024. Robbery cases also surged, rising to 171 in January 2025 from 114 in the same month the previous year. The increase in violent crimes has undermined public confidence in the interim government’s ability to maintain order.
Teen Gangs and the Breakdown of Urban Safety
Another disturbing element is the rise of teen gangs, known locally as Kishor Gangs. As of January 2024, there were approximately 50 active teen gangs in Dhaka alone. These gangs have been involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and even murder. Many operate with political patronage, making it increasingly difficult for local law enforcement to intervene effectively.
The Power Vacuum: From Political Collapse to Chaos
The downfall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government created a power vacuum that opened the floodgates to unchecked criminal activity. Police presence in several districts thinned out almost overnight. Reports surfaced of police stations being abandoned or under-manned. In the ensuing chaos, neighborhoods became vulnerable to home invasions, targeted killings, and armed robberies.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, rather than stepping in with firm authority, adopted a non-interventionist approach that emboldened criminal networks.
Islamist Mobilization Under State Blindness
Of particular concern is the resurgence of Islamist extremist elements. Shortly after assuming power, the Yunus administration released high-profile convicts tied to the Ansarullah Bangla Team and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen. The most controversial was the release of Mufti Jashimuddin Rahmani, the spiritual leader of Ansarullah Bangla Team, who had been implicated in multiple terrorism-related offenses.
Since then, there has been a disturbing pattern of street-level mobilization by groups previously dismantled during Hasina’s tenure. In Chittagong, masked men carrying machetes staged a daylight attack on a Hindu-owned store. In Narayanganj, a Shia procession was ambushed, resulting in 3 fatalities. Eyewitnesses alleged the attackers shouted religious slogans and fled without police interference.
The BNP-Jamaat Nexus: Orchestrated Disorder
Evidence is mounting that the BNP-Jamaat political alliance is leveraging the chaos for strategic gain. In areas like Rampura, Tejgaon, and Motijheel, video footage has surfaced of BNP-linked mobs looting shops, burning buses, and assaulting minority neighborhoods. Many of these attacks appear coordinated, not random.
A senior intelligence official, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that BNP ward-level leaders have been “re-activating local musclemen” to serve both political and criminal objectives. These developments suggest that the lawlessness is not merely the result of governmental inaction but part of an organized attempt to destabilize the capital.
Minorities and Vulnerable Groups: Caught in the Crossfire
The collapse of law and order has been particularly devastating for minority communities. During Durga Puja in October 2024, over 15 incidents of idol desecration and vandalism were reported, despite the deployment of police . Human rights groups have documented cases where Hindu families were forcibly displaced from neighborhoods under threat of violence.
This targeted intimidation reflects a broader pattern where vulnerable populations are used as scapegoats or soft targets in times of political unrest.
Assault on the Free Press
Media houses have also come under siege. According to watchdog organizations, over 354 journalists have been harassed, 74 physically assaulted, 113 falsely charged, and 167 had press credentials revoked since the interim government took over. These statistics mark one of the most repressive periods for press freedom in Bangladesh’s recent history.
This chilling environment has created an atmosphere of self-censorship and fear, allowing criminal networks to flourish with minimal scrutiny.
Crime Index and Public Sentiment in Dhaka
Global crime analytics platform Numbeo currently rates Dhaka’s crime index at 69.92, categorizing it as “high”. Concerns about robbery score 65.25, and the score for safety when walking alone at night is a dismal 25.84. Public sentiment across neighborhoods like Mohammadpur, Khilgaon, and Dhanmondi reflects growing paranoia, with many households resorting to private security arrangements.
Conclusion: A Manufactured Collapse of Order
Dhaka today is not merely a city in crisis—it is the tragic outcome of calculated political negligence. What was once a lively urban capital balancing tradition and modernity has been reduced to a cautionary tale of what happens when leadership is handed over to moral opportunists and ideological extremists.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, touted as a technocratic solution, has proven not only ineffective but complicit. In just months, it has overseen the unraveling of the police command structure, unleashing of known extremists, and the rehabilitation of criminals from BNP and Jamaat ranks. Yunus’ “peace-building” narrative has bred a vacuum of governance that Islamists, gangsters, and political thugs now exploit.
If Bangladesh is to reclaim Dhaka, the first step must be dismantling the façade of neutrality that the current regime maintains. Accountability must begin with Muhammad Yunus and extend to the BNP-Jamaat ecosystem that enables this chaos. No rhetoric of peace or transitional justice can erase the blood on the streets.
The rickshaws still move—but now, they rattle nervously between shuttered stores, their vibrant paint splattered by fear, their bells drowned by the clang of machetes and the crack of gunfire.
