A series of public shootings across Bangladesh has heightened concerns over public safety, with armed assailants targeting businesses, homes, healthcare facilities and vehicles, often escaping before police can apprehend them.
The incidents have occurred despite official figures indicating a decline in major crimes, highlighting a gap between crime statistics and public perceptions of security.
The latest incident took place early on October 24, when unidentified assailants fired at the car of musician and former Bangladesh Cricket Board director Asif Akbar in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area. A CNG-powered auto-rickshaw stopped near his vehicle outside Bishal Center, and a man got out and shot at the rear-door window before fleeing.
Akbar was inside his office on the building’s third floor at the time. No one was injured, as the car was unoccupied. Police recovered evidence of gunfire from the vehicle.
Akbar filed a case against unidentified assailants at Hatirjheel Police Station that night. Police were examining CCTV footage to identify those involved, but no significant progress had been reported by Sunday afternoon.
Investigators had yet to establish whether the attack was intended to target the musician or stemmed from another motive.
Other recent incidents in the capital have also raised alarm.
On October 15, vegetable seller Sumon Ali was shot outside his business in the Basila area of Mohammadpur, while his son Fahim was injured in a machete attack during the same incident. The family alleged that they were targeted for disclosing the names of people allegedly involved in an earlier murder in Keraniganj. Disputes over roadside vending and extortion have also been cited as possible motives, although police have not confirmed the cause.
On September 12, a driver named Rana was shot inside a house in Badda’s Moynarbagh area, in an incident that also involved allegations of extortion.
Three attacks in Khulna in one day
Khulna witnessed three separate incidents of gun violence and vandalism on October 24, the same day Inspector General of Police Ali Hossain Fakir called for a firm stance against terrorism and extortion at a community policing gathering in the district.
In Terokhada upazila, local Jubo Dal leader Ramim Biswas was shot while sitting in a van on the Sener Bazar–Madhupur road. Assailants riding a motorcycle opened fire, hitting him in the ribs. He was taken to hospital.
Later that day, grocery shopkeeper Dhananjay Kundu, also known as Akash Kundu, was shot in the abdomen while sitting at his shop in South Tutpara in Khulna city. Police initially suspected a possible connection to intimidation or extortion, but the investigation had not established a motive.
At around 9:15pm, a group of assailants fired shots into the air and vandalised Sandhani Clinic on Babukhan Road.
The three incidents in a single district on the day of the police chief’s warning have raised questions about security at the local level.
Khulna has seen other shootings in recent weeks. On October 10, armed men on a motorcycle shot Asaduzzaman Jony outside his home on Kashem Road. Police said the following day that CCTV footage had helped identify suspects, but they had not been arrested at the time.
On October 4, Nasimul Karim was shot dead while sitting at a tea stall in Dighalia.
Investigators have yet to establish whether these incidents share common weapons, networks or motives.
Violence linked to extortion and turf disputes
Gun violence has also been reported outside Dhaka and Khulna. In Sitakunda, Chattogram, Jubo Dal activist Tarek Hossain Bappi was beaten and shot dead late on October 16. Another activist, Tafsir Alam Shawon, was shot and injured in the same incident. CCTV footage reportedly showed several people being beaten before the attackers opened fire and fled.
Although some victims have political affiliations, the motives behind individual attacks vary and remain unconfirmed in several cases. Allegations include extortion, revenge and disputes over local influence.
The pattern of attacks has added to public anxiety because assailants often strike in open areas, arrive on motorcycles or in auto-rickshaws, and escape quickly. Police subsequently rely on CCTV footage and other technological evidence to identify suspects.
Beyond deaths and injuries, such violence can disrupt businesses, restrict people’s movement and discourage witnesses from speaking out against crime.
Official figures show a decline in major crimes
According to figures published by the Home Ministry, cases involving seven categories of crime fell to 17,335 between January and September 2026, from 18,661 during the same period in 2025.
Murder cases declined from 2,913 to 2,659, while robbery cases fell from 538 to 387.
The government has cited the figures as evidence of an improvement in the law and order situation. However, the data do not provide a separate comparative breakdown of all shootings, displays of firearms or extortion incidents.
Experts say it would be premature to describe the current period as the worst in recent history without comparing several years of data on shootings, weapons used, casualties and the outcomes of investigations.
The availability of illegal firearms is another concern. According to police headquarters data, 1,309 firearms looted from police installations across the country on August 5, 2024, remained unrecovered as of August 26, 2026. A substantial quantity of ammunition was also missing. Authorities have not established whether looted weapons were used in each of the recent shootings.
Police reject claims of deteriorating security
Additional Inspector General of Police Sayedur Rahman rejected the suggestion that the law and order situation was deteriorating.
“There are illegal firearms in the hands of criminals, that is true. At the same time, police are regularly conducting operations to recover these weapons and arrest offenders,” he said. He added that isolated shootings occurred in other countries as well and should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of deteriorating security.
Criminologist Touhidul Haque, an associate professor at the University of Dhaka’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research, offered a different assessment.
He said criminal groups were increasingly divided and clashing over political influence, extortion, illegal occupation of property and drug trafficking. Such disputes, he said, were leading to attacks, shootings and killings in different parts of the country.
Haque acknowledged that law enforcement agencies had arrested suspects in several recent high-profile cases. However, he argued that those arrested in extortion cases were often lower-level operatives, while the principal organisers, financiers and people issuing instructions remained beyond the reach of the law.
He called for stronger party discipline and consistent enforcement of existing laws, regardless of an offender’s political affiliation or influence.
“Political identity or influence must not allow anyone to remain above the law,” he said, warning against selective, symbolic or compromise-driven action in major criminal cases.
Inspector General Fakir has also spoken about links between extortionists and influential figures. He said initiatives were underway to introduce legislation allowing police to initiate cases based on digital evidence, even when complainants were unwilling to come forward.
Experts say legal changes must be accompanied by preventive intelligence operations, faster investigations, efforts to trace the origins of illegal firearms and effective progress in court proceedings.
For residents living with the fear of sudden gunfire, the central question remains how armed assailants continue to identify targets, carry out attacks in public and escape before law enforcement can intervene.
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