Robbery in a hearse: What kind of Bangladesh is this?

Various types of crimes occur in society and the state. Editorials are written about these incidents in the media. Warnings are issued to the government and the public so that such events do not happen again. But now in Bangladesh, robberies are even taking place in hearses—who can be addressed or warned in such a situation? How corrupt must the soul of a nation become for its people to commit such despicable acts! Not even a hearse is safe from robbery. The tragic part is that, in the act of robbing, the robbers even assaulted the dead body.

According to media reports published on Saturday (May 24), a robbery took place at Nasirnagar in Brahmanbaria, targeting a hearse. According to police and local sources, around 1am on Thursday night, a masked gang of robbers blocked an ambulance by placing a tree across the road in the Tilpara area of Burishwar union. The body of Sabdar Ali from Mukbulpur village, who died of cancer while receiving treatment at Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital in Dhaka, was being transported in that ambulance.

The gang of 10–15 robbers attacked the relatives in the vehicle with local weapons. They vandalised the ambulance and beat nine people, including a woman. They even removed the shroud from the corpse and lifted the dead man's leg to check whether any money or valuables were hidden. The robbers looted at least 10 mobile phones and over Tk 50,000 from the driver and passengers.

Following the incident, deceased Sabdar Ali’s eldest son Md Alamgir Mia, president of ward no. 3 of the BNP in Purbo Bhag union, filed a case with Nasirnagar Police Station. The case names 13–14 unidentified individuals as suspects. Police have arrested two of them. They were detained during a raid in various areas of the upazila early Saturday morning. While the criminals may have been caught, it is also necessary to investigate what led them to such a brutal act. This incident demands an exploration of the "criminal psychology" involved.

Everyone usually holds a natural sense of respect for the dead but it seems some people have lost even that. Many such incidents are happening in Bangladesh today, making it essential to research the roots of this “criminal tendency.” The grief of the bereaved family in this case is easy to imagine. Therefore, this incident should not be seen merely as a robbery, but as a cruel reflection of social decay.

No incident is isolated from society. There is no scope to consider such incidents as isolated. The current moral degradation and the chaotic state of law and order in Bangladesh are part of the same pattern. We demand a thorough investigation and justice from the administration for this incident.