The old menace returns

ONCE a scourge during national holidays in the past, gangs of criminals who employed medicines to render their victims unconscious, some of whom dying in the process, are now back in vogue this year. According to what has been published in a national Bangla daily, we understand that there have been more than 380 such reported cases in the month of September and two unfortunate individuals have met their deaths. We are informed by the police that special squads have been deployed to combat this menace. But given the fact that tens of thousands of people will be carrying cash to procure sacrificial animals, it remains highly suspect whether the mere deployment of more police will be an answer to the problem.

That the police do not treat such crimes seriously unless there is a death involved automatically serves to encourage criminal elements to engage in such behaviour. When we take into account that these crimes remain highly underreported, coupled with the fact that there is an inertia on the part of authorities to registering such incidents as crime leading to a situation where crimes like these are not prioritised for investigation, precisely how will deployment of special squads help stem such crimes remains a mystery. Given the unusually high volumes of cash transactions that will take place prior and during Eid-ul-Azha, we would certainly like to see more police vigilance to crack down on these criminal gangs but also a follow up on filing and pursuance of cases against them.