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THE police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) -- the two main law enforcement bodies -- remain specially deployed now against the terrorist threat sweeping the country. The rather thick concentration of the security forces against the threat posed by terrorists is fully justified in the backdrop of the seriousness of it. But the relevant ministry also needs to take into account whether the traditional underworld is taking advantage of the situation in which the law enforcers are tied down in greater number with their terrorism-related duties. Such a situation, as the reports in the media do bear out, has left the gangs rather unencumbered to go for their usual crimes such as robbery, hijack, extortion, etc. Indeed, the number of such incidents are seen to be on the rise after a relative lull that was noted in the wake of hard operations against them that started some months ago. A series of robberies have been reported in Dhaka in recent weeks and similar robberies in other places of the country were also reported. Robbers got away with Taka 6.7 million from a distribution outlet of the British American Tobacco Company (BATC) in Chittagong Saturday night and the news of it made headlines in newspapers on the following day.
Clearly, there is a need for the police and other law enforcement bodies to step up their activities to deter such traditional crimes. A contingency plan has to be devised and put into operation to release members of the police, RAB and other security agencies from their terrorism related duties to the ones now threatening people's lives and properties. It has to be done with care so that the right equilibrium of forces can be achieved to both successfully maintain the momentum against the terrorist networks and effectively dealing with the surge in conventional crimes. The existing number of the members of the police and other law enforcement bodies is not so small that both tasks cannot be accomplished well and simultaneously. What is required is only better planning to this end. At any rate, there is need for immediate activism on the part of the law enforcement bodies so that the members of the underworld can realise that no slack is there in law enforcement that they can exploit. Only the perception of resolute and uncompromising policing against them will hold the criminals at bay.
It appears that the RAB and, to some extent, the police also did some useful work in busting the organised crime rackets prior to their preoccupation with terrorism. A number of the top leaders of the underworld were arrested in this period as well as a sizeable quantity of unauthorised weapons was recovered from their armouries. But the ranks of the arrested ones did not remain unfilled. The positions of the ones who were put behind bars or were killed in crossfire incidents of the RAB were filled as quickly by others. Also, the arrested ones have 'managed' to secure their bail by devious means that are not unknown to the ordinary citizens about how the lower courts of justice do function in the country. Also in many cases, the new gang leaders have resumed the activities of their predecessors with some zest. Besides, new and youthful gangs have been formed in different parts of Dhaka. The press reported sometime ago about the rise of the new gangs and the fact that their identities in some case are not even known to the police stations. All of these developments need to be taken into cognisance and responded swiftly by the law enforcement bodies.
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