Dhaka’s streets have turned into a battleground of fear in 2025, with crime rates skyrocketing amid political chaos. Local media reports reveal a staggering 181,737 cases registered, including rescues and carryovers from the previous year. But the real tragedy unfolds in the shadows: women and children bearing the brunt of this violence.
Analysts point fingers at the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, which took over after a dramatic regime change. Promised stability has evaporated, leaving law and order in tatters. Police data, cited by Bengali daily Bonik Barta, shows 21,936 cases of violence against women and children—far outpacing 12,740 thefts and 3,785 murders.
Robberies spiked to 1,935 incidents, with 702 lootings, 988 cases under the Speedy Trial Act, 66 riots, 1,101 kidnappings, and 601 attacks on police. Other crimes numbered a whopping 81,738. The murder of four-and-a-half-year-old Roza Mani last year ignited nationwide fury. Her body was found dumped near a Dhaka overpass on May 13, after she vanished from Tejgaon the day before.
Beyond Roza, at least 1,000 child abuse cases surfaced in the capital alone, spilling into schools and workplaces across the nation. Criminologist Tauhiful Haq from Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research warns of ‘terrifying trends.’ ‘Political upheaval has crippled law enforcement,’ he told Bonik Barta. ‘Women and children suffer most, alongside targeted killings and mob lynchings.’
Yunus’s administration faces mounting criticism as Bangladesh grapples with escalating violence. Experts demand stricter law enforcement to restore order. Without swift action, the cycle of crime threatens to engulf the nation further, leaving its most vulnerable in peril.