On September 17, terrorists abducted chicken trader Nurul Abshar at gunpoint in Patiya, Chittagong. The terrorists took away Tk40,000 from his pocket. Later, they demanded Tk17 lakh as ransom. However, he was rescued within two hours due to the police’s prompt action.
In Comilla, the CID recovered the skull of the victim, rickshaw puller Mehedi Hasan, from the bushes in the Uttar Trish area of โโNabipur West Union 36 days after his abduction. Along with the recovery of the body on the afternoon of September 17, three of his abductors were arrested. Bangra Bazar Police Station OC Mahfuzur Rahman said that the abductors have confessed that Mehedi was killed to rob the auto rickshaw.
Meanwhile, Md. Sunny Ahmed, son of Shaoban Hossain of Daipukuria-Bagbari village in Shibganj, was kidnapped on September 15 to collect the money owed. Later that night, police rescued him from Golapbazar in Mobarakpur Union of Chapainawabganj. After the kidnapping, a ransom of Tk8 lakh was demanded from his family. Five people were arrested in connection with the kidnapping.
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The rate of kidnapping-related crimes in the country is increasing alarmingly. This rate has more than doubled in the last year.
In the eight months from January to August this year, 715 people were kidnapped. Last year, this number was 340 during the same period.
July this year set a record in terms of kidnappings. In this one month, 109 people were kidnapped. And on average, more than three people were kidnapped every day in the last eight months. This picture indicates a major deterioration in law and order.
These data have been revealed from the monthly crime statistics published by the Bangladesh Police Headquarters. Although there are some numerical differences in the observations of various human rights organisations working on law and order in the country, a roughly similar picture of the increase in crime has emerged.
Abductions doubled in a year
H M Shahadat Hossain, Assistant Inspector General of Police (Media and PR) at the Police Headquarters, told Kaler Kantho: โThe law enforcement agencies publish crime information every month. Through this, we get an idea about the โtrendโ of contemporary crimes.
โSometimes crime increases, sometimes it decreases. We take strict action against the crimes that increase.โ
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A total of 642 people were kidnapped in 2024. Of these, 51 were kidnapped in January, 43 in February, 51 in March, 55 in April, 50 in May, 31 in June, 32 in July, 27 in August, 65 in September, 96 in October, 67 in November, and 74 in December. Of these, 340 were kidnapped in the first eight months until August.
An average of 42.5 people were kidnapped per month during that time. This average has increased to 89.38 people during the same period this year, which is more than double the number last year.
Of these, 109 people were kidnapped in July this year, the highest number in a single month in the last six years, according to the research institute Centre for Governance Studies (CGS). Apart from this, 105 people were kidnapped in January this year, 78 in February, 83 in March, 88 in April, 82 in May, 80 in June and 90 in August.
The recently published CGS report โBangladesh Crime Reports 2020-25; A Data-Driven Look at Rising Crime Trendsโ expressed concern about this.
According to the report, in 2025, an average of 86.17 kidnappings were reported per month, which was 53.5 last year. Kidnappings increased by 61.07% compared to the previous year. This is the highest record in the last six years.
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ZI Khan Panna, chairman of the human rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), said: โThe number of cases we see is higher than the actual number. In many cases, cases cannot be filed without government sponsorship. Now there is no law in the country, there is no rule of law. As a result, crime has not decreased but has increased.โ
Analysis of data from the criminal police shows that the kidnapping rate has increased abnormally since September last year. In the last four months of last year, an average of 2.52 people were kidnapped per day. As a result, the average number of kidnappings per day that year stood at 1.76.
This trend increased further in the first eight months of this year. During this period, an average of 2.98 people were kidnapped per day. Previously, from 2020 to 2023, the average number of kidnappings per day was 1.33.
Society and crime expert Dr. Touhidul Haque said: โWhen a crime increases, the law enforcement agencies try to justify it by presenting a reason. Making the regulators come up with such explanations without trying to control crime is a sign of unprofessionalism. Due to this attempt, criminals get opportunities in various ways. Since the police are used for political interests, they suppress different parties and opinions. As a result, the level of crime in society increases further.โ
He said: “On average, three kidnappings per day means that there is a major deficiency in the rule of law in the country.” Crime is increasing due to unemployment. Crime experts say that crimes like kidnapping are committed in society for various reasons, including political and family enmity, and rape. However, most kidnappings in the country occur for financial reasons. In addition to the involvement of extortionist terrorists in incidents like kidnapping to extort money, the involvement of family, close relatives and neighbours is seen. In the current context, most families live on the income of one person. When his income suddenly stops and many family members depend on his income, he cannot find work for a while and first loses his savings. Then he takes out loans. At one point, he gets involved in various crimes.โ
The final report of the latest labour force survey published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on September 11 this year said that the number of unemployed people in the country has increased by 160,000 in a year. As of December 31, 2024, this number was 262,000.
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