Dhaka, Jan 26 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Awami League on Monday expressed concern over the country’s deteriorating security situation, which it said has taken a dark turn, warning that kidnapping has transitioned from isolated criminal acts into an organised, nationwide business.

According to the party, the reality of kidnapping in Bangladesh has become a nightmare for ordinary citizens, from a sub-assistant engineer in Bogura district being forced to pay ransom twice to the tragic murder of Sudipto Roy, a student of Cambrian College in Dhaka, over an unpaid 8-million-Bangladeshi-taka demand.

The Awami League revealed alarming figures showing a catastrophic decline in public safety, with kidnapping cases more than double in just four years, from 445 cases in 2021 to 1,005 cases in 2025.

The party, citing data from Bangladesh police headquarters, stated that the cases intensified during the period of political transition in the country in 2024 following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The statistics showed that over half of all abductions occurred in the country’s economic heartlands, with Dhaka Division and Metropolitan accounting for 403 cases and Chattogram Division 203 in 2025.

“The fact that citizens are no longer safe in commercial hubs points toward a total breakdown of the law enforcement apparatus,” the Awami League noted.

Citing critics, the party alleged that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government’s lack of an electoral mandate has resulted in weak accountability. Touhidul Haque, a crime analyst at Dhaka University, noted that “victim families often feel their pleas for help vanish into thin air”.

“While the police frequently categorise these incidents as ‘financial disputes,’ the sheer volume of abductions suggests a deeper issue: the absence of the rule of law. When a government is not beholden to the voters, the safety of those voters often becomes a secondary concern,” the Awami League stated.

Emphasising that behind every statistic represents a grieving family, the party said, the surge in kidnappings in 2025 highlights that these acts are no longer driven by personal vendettas but by cold, financial extortion and land grabbing.

“The interim government’s critics suggest that the focus on maintaining power through foreign backing and non-democratic means has left the gates open for militant groups and criminal syndicates. For the families of the abducted, the “change” promised in July has resulted in nothing but insecurity, extortion, and the loss of loved ones,” the Awami League stated.

As the crime rate continues to climb, the party questioned how much longer the citizens of Bangladesh can endure this climate of fear.

–IANS

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