The name Mohammadpur in the capital now conjures images of theft, snatching, robbery and various other crimes for city residents. The situation there is so fragile that police officers themselves say Mohammadpur tops the list of crime among Dhaka’s 50 police stations.
At the centre of the area’s criminal activity is the enclave known as “Geneva Camp”. For years the camp has been the scene of clashes linked to narcotics trade, the dominance of armed groups, and other crimes.
Following the July 24 mass uprising, several rounds of violence around Geneva Camp left people dead in Mohammadpur. In response, local police and the military launched joint, large-scale operations. During those operations many drug dealers and other criminal suspects were arrested and sent to jail. But gaps in the law allowed many to obtain bail and return to criminal activity, and the situation deteriorated again. Recently, alongside terrorist activity at Geneva Camp, snatching, extortion, theft and drug-related disorder have increased across much of Mohammadpur. CCTV footage of robberies and street thefts carried out openly with samurai swords, knives and other sharp weapons has circulated online.
Crime experts say the sole reason criminals have become brazen is the police’s lenient stance. Criminals are exploiting that opportunity. The police must restore the deterrent posture that once made offenders afraid.
Regular operations: nearly 1,200 arrests in three months
Police officials say arrests are being made almost daily; juvenile and adult suspects accused of various crimes are being sent to jail. In the past three months, nearly 1,200 criminals have been arrested in Mohammadpur alone. In addition to operations by law enforcement in various parts of Mohammadpur, joint forces have been conducting raids in Geneva Camp and other areas.
On Sunday (October 5), RAB-2 reported that a special anti-drug and anti-snatching operation in Geneva Camp resulted in the arrest of 17 people and the seizure of homemade weapons and narcotics. The force said it recovered a samurai used in snatching and 4.964 kilograms of cannabis.
RAB said several snatching gangs in Geneva Camp were involved in snatching, drug trafficking and other types of terror activities. Acting on secret information, a joint operational team from RAB-2 and the Army raided Geneva Camp on Saturday night (October 4), recovering weapons and drugs and arresting 17 people.
The arrested suspects had been hiding by day and committing snatching, drug and other criminal activities at night. They face snatching and drug-related cases at various police stations and have previously served prison terms on such charges. The suspects were handed over to the concerned police stations for legal action.
On the same day, Mohammad Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner of the DMP’s Media and Public Relations branch, said the police arrested 26 people in a special operation in Mohammadpur on various criminal charges. Those arrested included individuals wanted in drug cases, fugitives named in warrants, and people involved in other offences.
Earlier, on Friday (October 3), the DMP Media Centre said that during a special operation on Thursday (October 2) in crime-prone areas of Mohammadpur police arrested 14 people and recovered weapons and various items.
On September 20, Mohammadpur police conducted hour-long, block-style operations around Geneva Camp and arrested identified criminals, seizing large quantities of drugs, homemade weapons and hand grenades (cocktails).
In August, a joint operation in Geneva Camp detained 11 people and seized arms and drugs; authorities recovered 5,660 yaba tablets, 500 grams of cannabis, three samurais and two machetes. During that operation the joint force also blockaded the entire area. That month a clash between two groups in Geneva Camp left a young man, Shah Alam (20), dead; two people were arrested with machetes in connection with the incident.
In February this year, a joint force operation in Chand Udyan, Mohammadpur, resulted in an exchange of gunfire in which two people were killed. Five were arrested from the scene by the joint force.
Background to the unrest at Geneva Camp
Speaking to several senior residents of the camp about crimes centred on Geneva Camp, it emerged that some years ago control of the camp’s drug trade lay with two men, Nadim Hossain, alias Pachchish, and Ishtiaq. Using proceeds from drugs, they had allegedly formed their own terror squads. In July 2018, Pachchish was killed in a RAB crossfire in Purbachal. Reports later said Ishtiaq fled to India; there were also reports that he contracted and died from a pandemic illness.
In the absence of Pachchish and Ishtiaq, two rival factions scrambled to seize control of the camp’s drug trade. One faction is led by Bunia Sohel and the other by Chua Selim. Joining Bunia Sohel is another faction led by Babu, known as Syedpuira Babu.
Since the political transition, clashes have frequently made headlines in Geneva Camp. On October 31 last year, RAB arrested 12 people including Bunia Sohel from Sylhet’s Kotwali and Habiganj’s Madhabpur areas. Two months later, Chua Selim was also arrested. Earlier, on September 29, RAB reported the arrest of 31 people including Picchi Raja.
Tejgaon division police say these three notorious gang leaders and drug traffickers obtained bail and went into hiding after release from jail; efforts are underway to locate them.
Residents of Geneva Camp say that after last year’s popular uprising, the way terrorists, drug traffickers and various criminals rose to prominence in Mohammadpur – especially in the camp – made it seem as if the area would no longer be habitable for ordinary people and would become a one-party stronghold. However, law enforcement and joint forces conducting operations have improved the situation to some extent.
Police officials' comments
A police officer said that, apart from Kamalapur Railway Thana, Mohammadpur Thana leads crime activity among Dhaka’s 50 metropolitan police stations. Law enforcement has had to exert significant effort to control criminals in this single police station’s area. Since the 2024 uprising, the police have been coming out of a fragile state and have become more active in crime control. If law enforcement had not been strained by the psychological trauma and fragile condition, police would have had no difficulty controlling these crimes.
Tejgaon division Deputy Commissioner of Police (DC) Md. Ibne Mizan told Banglanews that police have arrested about one thousand to 1,200 criminals in operations over the past three months. Those arrested include accused fugitives named in cases, members of juvenile gangs, snatchers, drug traffickers, thieves and local area terrorists. Some drug dealers and other criminals who obtained bail returned to crime; they have been re-arrested in subsequent operations.
He added that operations are ongoing and police are working to ensure public safety. As readers know, joint forces are also frequently conducting operations to arrest criminals. Many of these areas are now largely free of crime.
At a press conference at police headquarters on 30 September, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam said that bringing the police back from the fragile state they had fallen into after the July–August movement to the current condition was a major challenge.
Views of crime specialists
Dr Touhidul Haque, a teacher at Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research and a crime specialist, urged the police to adopt a tougher stance to control crime in Mohammadpur and other areas.
Speaking to Banglanews, he said the reason criminals have grown reckless is that the police’s bite is no longer what it was. Criminals are taking advantage of that. “You yourselves can see that the police conduct operations in an area daily and catch criminals every day; it appears that police raid some remote area again and again, and the criminals run away. Yet this is a well-known area of the capital. Previously, when the police entered an area, criminals would not remain there for months. There was a time when people were afraid at the sight of police, and criminals kept clear. But now it has reached a point where sometimes the police become cautious at the sight of criminals. We must get out of this situation quickly. The police must return to their former strength so that criminals are afraid at their sight. For that, police work must be tougher and they must take visibly strict measures against criminals.”
Dr Touhidul Haque said that although police receive training at the start of their careers, they rarely receive significant refresher training after several years on the job. To tackle today’s complex crimes, officers need multiple modern training programs so they can become more skilled, modern and effective in suppressing crime.
"No matter how many other forces perform duties, the primary responsibility for security rests with the Bangladesh Police,” he said. “Police must also demonstrate the kind of operational posture that compels criminals to abandon criminality altogether," he added.
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