Bangladesh crime surge: 22,339 cases in nine months
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
A surge in seven categories of crime - murder, robbery, snatching, violence against women and children, kidnapping, attacks on police officers, and mob violence - raised alarm among law enforcement and policymakers over public safety.
During the first nine months of 2026, victims filed 22,339 cases involving six of these major crime classifications, while 537 mob violence incidents erupted across the country. In several instances, mobs targeted police officers directly inside police station compounds.
Investigating authorities said narcotics, pre-existing enmities, territorial dominance, and family and political disputes fuel the vast majority of these offenses, while law enforcement agencies achieved minimal success in addressing these underlying catalysts.
According to comprehensive statistics released by Police Headquarters, authorities registered 79,570 total cases for various offenses - including murder, robbery, snatching, violence against women, and attacks on police - between January and September 2026.
Within that broader figure, 22,339 cases pertained directly to murder, robbery, snatching, violence against women and children, kidnapping, and attacks on law enforcement.
Warning of the broader systemic risks, Touhidul Haque, associate professor at University of Dhaka and crime expert, told Agamir Somoy, “If we cannot normalize the law and order situation, its impact will fall on the government itself. No matter how many positive activities are undertaken, it is bound to have a negative impact. There is no alternative to zero tolerance regarding arms, drugs, and extortion.”
Meanwhile, Omar Faruk of the Department of Criminology and Police Science at Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University identified deteriorating social values as a primary driver of rising crime.
He said, “The teaching community, especially social institutions, must be made more publicly engaged. If the identity of the criminal is given priority in law enforcement, the law and order situation will never come under control.”
Escalating homicides and mob violence
Official data from Police Headquarters reveals that Bangladesh recorded 2,656 murder cases nationwide during the first nine months of 2026. Monthly records show 287 murders in January, 250 in February, 317 in March, 288 in April, 310 in May, 323 in June, 298 in July, 286 in August, and 297 in September.
These figures represent a monthly average of 295 homicides, translating to nearly 10 murders per day. Beyond official tallies, violent killings continue to surface across the country. Within a single 24-hour window, gun violence claimed the lives of a man and a housewife in Khulna.
A stabbing attack left one person dead in Dinajpur, while police in Nasirnagar, Brahmanbaria recovered the body of a housewife from a pond. Authorities also discovered a woman’s corpse stuffed inside a plastic drum in Sreebordi, Sherpur, recovered a pregnant housewife’s body in Gafargaon, Mymensingh, and retrieved the bodies of two men from separate sites in Bhola.
Mob violence has proved similarly deadly. Figures compiled by the human rights organization Manobadhikar Shongskriti Forum (MSF) document 1,134 mob violence incidents between 1 January 2024, and 17 October, resulting in 868 deaths and 861 injuries.
Focusing on 2026 alone through 17 October, the country experienced 537 mob attacks that caused 256 fatalities and left 575 people injured. These mob lynchings and group assaults underscore a perilous trajectory of citizens taking the law into their own hands rather than allowing legal claims to proceed through courts.
Surge in robberies, abductions, and offenses against women
Law enforcement registered 1,763 cases of robbery and snatching during the first nine months of 2026. Monthly filings tracked 215 cases in January, 176 in February, 181 in March, 203 in April, 209 in May, 189 in June, 160 in July, 196 in August, and 181 in September.
Police analysis highlights a heavy concentration of robbery, snatching, and hijacking across Dhaka and Chattogram, fueling widespread anxiety regarding public safety. Moreover, authorities recorded 16,709 cases of violence against women and children alongside 769 kidnapping cases during the same nine-month period, raising profound concerns over national social security.
Attacks on law enforcement and political conflicts
Assaults on law enforcement officers have also escalated. Data from Police Headquarters indicates 442 cases involving attacks on police members between January and September 2026, resulting in injuries to 442 officers.
Draft figures show 601 police members suffered injuries in 2025. Investigators report that officers frequently face violent resistance during anti-drug operations and mob outbreaks, with several officers sustaining severe injuries and later dying, though draft records omit specific death counts.
In response, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed issued strict directives ordering aggressive measures against mob violence, drug networks, illegal weapons handlers, and extortionists.
Political conflict continues to exact a heavy toll as well. According to the human rights organization HRSS, the country witnessed 1,013 incidents of political violence over the past nine months, resulting in 73 deaths and over 6,473 injuries.
Addressing the breakdown of order among youth, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir said the government recently established local committees - comprising the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Officer-in-Charge (OC) - at every police station to eradicate teen gangs and restore stability.
