Zakir Hossain in Dhaka
The interim government of Bangladesh, led by Nobel peace prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has rejected claims of a sharp rise in crime, asserting that official statistics do not support recent media portrayals of a worsening law and order situation.
“In fact, the data reveals stabilisation in major crime categories over the past 10 months,” said Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, citing figures from the Police Headquarters. He acknowledged that public concern has grown due to reports of gruesome incidents, such as the recent daylight lynching of a trader in Dhaka but insisted that such events do not reflect a broader crime wave.
“Only a few crime categories have increased. Citizens should remain vigilant but also trust that law enforcement is maintaining control, as reflected by relatively stable crime trends,” he added. Azad presented crime data from September 2024 to June 2025, along with a five-year trend analysis, to support his statement.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh High Court on Monday (July 14) issued a significant rule, asking why Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus should not be formally recognized as a ‘National Reformer’ for his role in leading governance reforms and stabilising the country after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
The same ruling also questioned why the victims of the July-August 2024 mass uprising—such as Abu Sayed, Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho, Wasim, and others—should not be declared ‘National Martyrs.’ The court further asked why an accurate list of all martyrs from the anti-discrimination movement should not be prepared and published in an official gazette. The rule was issued by a bench comprising Justice Fahmida Khatun and Justice Syed Zahid Mansur following a writ petition filed by citizen Imdadul Haque, after his earlier legal notice on the matter went unanswered.