Staff Reporter:
Independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana has expressed deep concern and dissatisfaction over what she described as a sharp deterioration in the country’s law and order situation, citing alarming figures on murders, abductions and violence against women during the government’s first 100 days in office.
Speaking at JS session yesterday on a notice of urgent public importance under Rule 71, Rumeen criti-cized the absence of Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed from the House while raising the issue.
“The Home Minister was expected to be present today, but I can see that his seat is empty. Nevertheless, I will proceed in his absence,” she said.
Drawing on statistics from a report by Transparency International Bangladesh, Rumeen claimed that the crime rate had risen sharply during the government’s first 100 days.
According to the figures she cited, the country recorded 605 murders, 294 robberies, 90 dacoities and 196 abductions in March and April alone. She also said there had been 129 attacks on police personnel and 2,214 incidents of theft during the same period.
Highlighting the plight of women and children, the MP told Parliament that 3,496 incidents of violence against women and children had been reported. Among them, between 78 and 102 women were alleged-ly raped, while 30 to 36 cases involved gang rape. The number of child rape victims ranged between 49 and 71, she added.
“These statistics clearly demonstrate how fragile and alarming the law and order situation has become over the past three months,” she said.
Rumeen argued that the government’s overall success or failure depended largely on two sectors—economy and law enforcement.
“Fifty per cent of the government’s success or failure will depend on the economy and law and order, while the remaining 50 per cent will depend on other ministries,” she said.
During the discussion, Cumilla-2 lawmaker Mohammad Selim Bhuiyan said around 600,000 teachers and employees had not received their salaries ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
He alleged that salaries for May remained unpaid even on June 8.
“It is unacceptable that teachers are not receiving their salaries under this government. During previous administrations, salaries were usually paid before Eid,” he said, demanding action against those respon-sible.
At the same time, he thanked the government for taking steps to allocate funds for private teachers’ re-tirement benefits and welfare trusts.
