Mugging on comeback trail?

Yet another woman falls from rickshaw and dies following snatching of her vanity bag. In another such highly tragic incident, a woman caught in the straps of her bag was dragged several hundred yards along the road at Shukrabad when snatchers from a microbus window got hold of the bag. In yet another snatching incident, a child from her mother's lap fell on the road near Jatrabari to its death. The latest incident is a testimony to the fact that muggers are still active. What is worrying in particular is that muggers of the new generation, unlike their predecessors, feel no qualms about killing their victims. They are too rapacious and cruel to be appeased easily. Unlike the past masters in the trade, whose repertoire was their fine work of hand to the point of black art, these gangs can do away with lives in a fell swoop in order to get what they target.

A couple of years ago a police officer expressed his determination to eliminate mugging gangs from the city. That he did not brag is clear from the fact that such organised stealing attacks became few and far between over this period. Malam party had all but vanished. But now it seems muggers are apparently trying to stage a comeback. Can it be that particular police officer is no longer stationed in the city or he has been assigned duties other than dealing with muggers? Reports have it that snatchers have found their allies in some drivers of auto-rickshaws popularly known as CNG. Investigation into the murder of a passenger led to the noxious cooperation between auto-rickshaw drivers and thieving gangs. The drivers take recourse to various ploys to entrap passengers in the muggers' net in order to share booty.

The holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr is approaching fast, an occasion which usually sees increased activities by underworld goons. Already a few incidents of violent snatching have been reported. The law enforcement agencies should be put on alert to stop such activities. It has been proved that the law enforcers, if they keep vigil, are capable of detecting the culprits in crowded placed. However, alongside such vigilance the more important task is to bust the dens and networks of the criminals.

Before the unholy alliance between the auto-rickshaw drivers and mugging gangs proliferates, the law enforcement agencies should strike. Crimes follow some patterns for sometime and take new angles with emergence of new realities. Criminals always try to be ahead of their pursuers but if the intelligence branch is energetic and serious, the law enforces will always have an edge over the culprits. Preemptive strikes can catch the culprits like muggers off guard. This is what is needed to eliminate these vicious gangs, particularly before the holy month of Ramzan. Women and girls will crowd in markets for shopping and their security has to be ensured by all means.