Teenager’s killing puts Bangladesh’s deteriorating law and order under scrutiny
The body of the 13-year-old son of a Comilla University teacher was recovered from a forest near the campus on Saturday, bringing renewed attention to Bangladesh’s law-and-order situation.
The killing comes amid a series of murders, abductions and other violent crimes reported across the country in recent months.
Ishayat Shahriar, also known as Apratim, was the only son of Nahida Begum, an associate professor in the university’s Bangla department.
Apratim went missing on Friday after leaving home with his mother’s iPhone to take photographs with friends.
Police recovered his body around 1 pm Saturday from a secluded forest in the Lalmai hills near the university. He had injuries to his head, while the phone was missing.
Police and university officials initially suspected he may have been killed for the phone, although investigators said no motive had yet been established.
Police detained a teenager for questioning after CCTV footage showed him moving around with Apratim before his disappearance.
Hours later, police recovered the bodies of three members of a family from a house in Manikganj.
Saudi expatriate Akram Hossain, his wife Priyanka Akter and their 18-month-old daughter Aliza were found dead inside their home in Sadar upazila. Akram was found hanging, while his wife and daughter were found inside the room with apparent injuries.
Additional Superintendent of Police Mahram Ali said investigators initially suspected that Akram killed his wife and daughter before taking his own life. He said the cause and circumstances of the deaths would be determined through investigation and post-mortem examinations.
Priyanka’s family disputed the preliminary account and raised questions over the deaths.
Are murder cases rising in 2026?
The incidents come even as Police Headquarters data show registered murder cases declining in 2026.
A total of 2,076 murder cases were filed nationwide between January and July 2026, down from roughly 2,293 during the corresponding seven months of 2025. That represents a decrease of 217 cases, or about 9.5%.
An analysis done by Prothom Alo newspaper of the figures also found that between February 24 and August 24, at least 18 incidents occurred in which more than one member of the same family was killed.
A separate comparison of seven categories of police cases also points to an overall increase during the first six months of the BNP government.
Between February and July 2026, 21,756 cases were filed under those categories, according to Police Headquarters data. That compared with 21,228 cases between August 2025 and January 2026, an increase of 528 cases, or nearly 2.5%.
Dhaka has faced its own pressure from killings, armed robbery and mugging.
Police Headquarters data show 597 murder cases were filed in the Dhaka Metropolitan area during the 21 months between September 2024 and May 2026, alongside 773 robbery and mugging cases.
Transparency International Bangladesh also flagged law and order in its assessment of the BNP-led government’s first 100 days.
TIB’s monitoring found 605 murders, 294 incidents of hijacking or mugging and 196 abductions during March and April. It also recorded 3,496 cases of violence against women and children during the two months.
Its subsequent three-month compilation, covering March through May, put the number of murder cases at 915, robbery cases at 461 and abductions at 286.
TIB drew the figures from Bangladesh Police and several rights organisations, meaning some of its human-rights indicators are not directly comparable with Police Headquarters crime-case statistics.
Separate monitoring by Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation found 90 reported rape cases in July, up from 68 in June, although overall reported violence against women and children declined from 320 incidents to 306.
Police Headquarters has repeatedly instructed field-level officers to step up action against serious crime.
At its latest crime review meeting covering June, Additional Inspector General of Police Khandkar Rafiqul Islam ordered officers to prioritise murder, rape, robbery and abduction investigations.
“Every case must be investigated properly to ensure that criminals are brought under the law,” he told a media briefing this month. “All concerned must remain vigilant so that crime does not increase.”
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed issued a similar directive in July, ordering intensified drives against illegal firearms, muggers, drug traffickers and extortionists.
“Police must serve the public without favouring any individual, group or political party,” he said.
Nousheen Sharmila Ritu, PhD Researcher on criminology of University of Warwick told Daily Waadaa that “We normally think that if law enforcement agencies act effectively, the crime rate will decline. But that is not always the case."
Criminal activities are driven by multiple layers of factors, Ritu said, adding that "we must address these underlying issues as well if we want to tackle the problem effectively.”
2025 saw sustained pressure
The 2026 figures follow a year in which registered murder cases remained above levels recorded before the 2024 political upheaval.
Police recorded 3,786 murder cases nationwide in 2025, according to Police Headquarters data. That was 354 more than the previous year’s comparable figure cited in the police dataset, although authorities said some cases registered during the year related to killings that had occurred earlier.
During the first six months of 2025 alone, murder cases rose almost every month.
There were 294 murder cases in January, 300 in February, 316 in March, 338 in April, 341 in May and 344 in June — a total of 1,933 cases.
The average six-month total between 2020 and 2023 was about 1,613.
Other categories did not follow the same trajectory.
Police recorded 367 robbery cases between January and June 2025, with the monthly number declining from 71 in January to 49 in June.
Rape cases, however, increased from 392 in January to 492 in June.
Police data covering the first full year after the fall of the Awami League government showed 3,866 murder cases between August 2024 and July 2025, compared with 2,975 during August 2023-July 2024.
That comparison requires qualification.
Of the 3,866 cases, 637 were connected to killings during the July-August 2024 uprising. Removing those cases leaves 3,229 — still 254 more than the 2,975 registered during the preceding 12 months.
The then inspector general of police also said some of the increase reflected delayed reporting. He told Prothom Alo that cases were being filed over killings dating from previous years, including alleged “crossfire” deaths, because some families had previously been afraid to approach police.
Cases over enforced disappearances also entered the statistics after the change of government. The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances referred 160 such cases to police stations for action.
Policing disrupted after August 2024
The overthrow of the Awami League government on Aug. 5, 2024 was followed by a major disruption of policing.
Police stations were attacked in different parts of the country, officers withdrew from duty in many areas and regular policing took time to resume.
An analysis of Police Headquarters figures found 13,496 cases involving seven major categories of crime between August 2024 and February 2025, compared with 12,714 during the corresponding seven months a year earlier — an increase of 6.16%.
Robbery, mugging, looting and abduction cases showed particularly significant increases in that comparison, while theft, burglary and rape cases declined.
The disruption came after several years in which annual registered murder cases had remained around or above 3,000.
Police recorded 3,539 murder cases in 2020, 3,214 in 2021 and 3,126 in 2022. The figure declined to 3,023 in 2023.
In 2024, the number rose to 4,114, according to statistics released by the then Chief Adviser’s Press Wing based on Police Headquarters data.
That figure, however, included cases arising from the July-August uprising, when hundreds of people were killed, as well as cases filed after the fall of the Awami League government over deaths that had occurred earlier.
The available figures therefore do not provide a simple year-to-year measure of crimes actually committed. Changes in reporting, delayed cases and the disruption surrounding the 2024 uprising complicate direct comparisons.
But Police Headquarters data show registered murder cases rising again in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, while official reviews continue to identify murder, rape, robbery and abduction as priority areas for law-enforcement agencies.
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Clarification:
An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated that registered murder cases in Bangladesh had increased in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
Police Headquarters data show that 2,076 murder cases were registered between January and July 2026, compared with roughly 2,293 during the corresponding period of 2025 — a decline of about 9.5%.
The report and accompanying graphic have been corrected to reflect the accurate figures. Daily Waadaa regrets the error