By 
GHRD Research Team
Rahmatullah77, Novemer 28, 2017
In an attempt to restore the rule of law in the country, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus enraged the police forces of the country who, as a response, refused to cooperate with the government, leaving criminals and crimes unpunished.
Six months after the establishment of Muhammad Yunus’s government, the latest news of police insubordination, gang crime surge and tensions in Bangladesh preoccupy the population who demand firm answers. The country is under pressure as the government loses control of its armed forces, thus allowing criminals to perpetrate crimes unpunished.
One of the first acts performed by Yunus’s government was to ensure the return of the rule of law in Bangladesh by dismantling secret detention centres, establishing human rights commissions, organising the first free and fair election in the country since the last decade, and prosecuting senior police officers charged with extrajudicial killings. In particular, these prosecutions caused tensions between the police, who felt betrayed by the State, and the government, resulting in a reluctance from the Bangladeshi police being reluctant to cooperate with Yunus’s government.
The lack of cooperation from police forces has worsened over time and increased crime rates in the country since the police refuse to investigate criminal acts and arrest perpetrators as a form of protest. As a consequence, robberies have increased across the whole country, evasions from prisons occur daily as there is no police supervision, deaths of people in custody have surged, and lynching has become widespread. Furthermore, police forces are inclined to resort to armed violence in response to demonstrations by the population, creating victims.
Serious offences like gang crimes and harassment against minority groups, especially the Hindu minority, one of the largest minorities in the country, are extensive (News18, 2025). Additionally, reports denounce the presence of daily firearms fights in the streets of Dhaka with no police intervention. Owing to the lack of police force on the streets, there is a surge in highway robberies, too. These robberies are violent and often escalate into more serious crimes: witnesses report that some bus passengers, after being robbed, would be subjected to violent crimes, including rape. The situation is so serious that criminals appear to disguise themselves as police officers to perform their crimes.
Political unrest is spreading as people denounce the fact that the government has not been able to protect basic human rights. Notably, leaders of the new National Citizens Party highlighted how it would be impossible to hold free and fair elections with the current law-and-order situation, thus precluding the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to freedom of opinion. Additionally, the government has been criticised for accusing the former administration of the country instead of tackling the root causes of the problem.
Despite the change of government, the situation in Bangladesh is still unstable. Although Yunus claimed he would restore the rule of law in the country, he has not been able to do so peacefully and the population lives in fear of violence knowing there is no protection from the police forces of the country. As the matter has been brought to international attention, talks between the government and the police might begin soon.
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