23 killed across the country in one week

Every day, someone falls victim to murder somewhere in the country. In some places, people are beaten to death on suspicion of theft; elsewhere, disputes over land lead to fatalities. Brutal killings have also occurred over snatching, family disputes and personal enmity. One young man was killed in a mob beating over allegations of insulting religion. Attacks and gunfire have also erupted over political disputes and extortion. At least 23 murders of this kind took place in different parts of the country in just one week, from October 10 to 16. The victims included people from various walks of life, including journalists, political party leaders and activists, businesspeople, farmers, women and children.
A series of murders is fuelling public fear and insecurity. Questions are being raised about whether the country's law and order situation is steadily deteriorating. According to crime experts, these incidents raise concerns not only about the number of crimes but also about the rule of law and the effectiveness of the justice system.
On Friday morning, Khitish Mondal, 53, a fisherman, was tied to a tree and hacked and beaten to death in Tala upazila of Satkhira on suspicion of stealing fish. Fish enclosure owner Bishwanath Ghosh and his associates have been accused in connection with the killing. In Debhata, also in Satkhira, a young man named Wahiduzzaman Shamim, 38, was beaten to death in repeated attacks last week over allegations of insulting religion. It has been alleged that people were gathered after the incident was broadcast live on social media.
In Cumilla, miscreants hacked youth party leader Mohammad Kawsar to death on Friday. The previous night, journalist Lutfuzzaman Alif Fakir was shot dead in Durgapur upazila of Netrokona. Police said investigations into these killings were underway.
Dr Tawohidul Haque, a teacher at the University of Dhaka and a crime expert, said that killings following beatings based on suspicion, mob violence and personal disputes weaken public confidence in the rule of law. He stressed that crime prevention requires more than arrests; it also demands swift and impartial investigations, exemplary punishment and the identification of the underlying causes of crime. He also emphasised law enforcement free from political influence, stronger intelligence surveillance and greater public awareness. According to him, criminals must be brought to justice through the courts, and the tendency to take the law into one's own hands cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
A senior official at the Police Headquarters, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state was responsible for delivering justice. If there is an allegation against someone, that person must be handed over to the authorities. Any attempt to punish someone by taking the law into one's own hands is entirely illegal. Strict action will be taken against those involved in such incidents, the official added.
According to data from Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 94 people were killed in political violence between January and September this year. Of them, 51 died from gunfire, 18 were killed in internal clashes within the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and 25 died in other incidents. During the same period, 171 people were killed in mob violence.
Data from the human rights organisation Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) show that 302 bodies were recovered in connection with 285 murder incidents involving miscreants between July and September. During the same period, 17 people were killed and 1,227 injured in political violence. A total of 54 people died in 137 incidents of mob violence and mass beatings.
Ijazul Islam, executive director of HRSS, said coordinated efforts at every level of the state and society were necessary to establish the rule of law, improve the human rights situation and strengthen democratic processes to curb these human rights violations.
At a crime review meeting of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on October 14, Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed emphasised the need to strengthen communication and cooperation between the police and the public to prevent crime. He also instructed police to identify the causes of crime in collaboration with local residents and make beat policing more effective.
Notable Murders of the Week
On October 15, journalist Alif Fakir was shot dead in Durgapur, Netrokona. On the same day, an 80-year-old woman named Phalboru was killed by having her throat slit in Keraniganj, Dhaka, after resisting an attempt to snatch her chain.
A day earlier, Imdadul Haque was beaten to death in Alamdanga, Chuadanga, after protesting against the harassment of students. In Sonatala, Bogura, the mutilated body of a six-year-old child was recovered from a paddy field.
On October 15, police recovered the body of auto-rickshaw driver Rukon Uddin, 40, from Budiar Jangal in Nayapara, Netrokona. His hands were tied, and adhesive tape had been wrapped around his mouth.

On October 12, the dismembered body of Shirin Begum, 42, an expatriate worker in Jordan, was recovered from Jatrabari in the capital. Her husband, Dulal Howlader, 50, allegedly killed her and cut her body into four pieces. On the same day, Saheb Ali was killed in a shooting by rivals in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj. In Rupganj, an auto-rickshaw driver named Rajon, 25, was stabbed to death during an attempt to snatch his vehicle.
On October 11, businessman Badrul Alam was hacked to death in Gowainghat, Sylhet. On the same day, police recovered the body of a young woman in Fatullah with her hands and legs tied. Cleaner Hridoy Kumar Harijon, 35, was stabbed to death at the Sweeper Colony in Kashtaghar, Sylhet city. In Meherpur, sleeping farmer Habel Uddin was hacked to death. In Sreepur, Gazipur, a man was accused of beating and hacking his pregnant wife, Seema Rani Das, 35, to death. In Paba upazila of Rajshahi, businessman Ziaur Islam, 45, was killed in a clash over a land dispute.
On October 10, Mizanur Rahman, 45, was killed in a mob beating in Jashore on suspicion of cattle theft. In Kanaighat, Sylhet, the body of a young man with gunshot wounds was recovered from a border area. In Fatikchhari, Chattogram, a neighbour was accused of killing three-year-old Halima Akter over a land dispute.
On October 9, brick kiln worker Ripon Soren, 45, was beaten to death on suspicion of theft in Chondihara, under Bogura Sadar upazila. On October 8, the body of Jannatul Tajmin, a seventh-grade student, was recovered from a paddy field in Lalmhai, Cumilla.
In another incident, a vegetable trader was shot and his son stabbed in Mohammadpur, the capital, amid a dispute over extortion. In Gurudaspur, Natore, miscreants attacked Shakil Islam, member secretary of the municipal unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, with sharp weapons, leaving him injured. According to local sources, two youths arriving on a motorcycle initially fired at him, then chased him, caught up with him and hacked him with sharp weapons before fleeing.
The incidents of the past week have once again raised an urgent question: How can the tendency to kill people over suspicion or disputes be stopped? According to crime experts, the major challenges now include ensuring swift investigations and trials, preventing mob violence, enforcing the law free from political influence and building a strong social resistance against crime.