TANGAIL, July 6: A sharp deterioration in law and order has sparked concern in Tangail, where five people have been killed in separate incidents across three upazilas over the past seven days.
The string of killings has triggered widespread fear among residents, with the latest incident involving the fatal assault of a businessman in Tangail Sadar Upazila on Saturday night.
According to police and local sources, unidentified assailants beat grocery shop owner Masud Mia, 45, to death at Kuijbari Bazar in Magra Union of Tangail Sadar on Saturday night. Police recovered his body on Sunday morning and sent it to the morgue for an autopsy.
Masud, son of Lal Mahmud of Kuijbari Village, bore multiple injury marks on his body, police said.
Locals said they informed Union Parishad Member Farhad Ali after discovering the body early Sunday. He then contacted the national emergency service by dialling 999, prompting police to recover the body.
In another incident, police recovered the body of Parveen Akter, a widow, from a ditch beside her house near the Sakhipur Upazila Health Complex gate on July 1, a day after she had gone missing.
Parveen was the wife of the late Humayun Khan of Hatibandha Village.
Police and family members said she had been living alone in a rented house in Ward No. 7 of Sakhipur Municipality, as her son, Fahad, works in Dhaka.
Earlier, on June 29, police recovered the body of housewife Nazma Alam Naju from her residence in the Bishwas Betka area of Tangail town.
Police said the local mosque's muezzin, Mosharaf Hossain, allegedly killed her to rob her gold ornaments after falling into debt. Following his arrest, Mosharaf reportedly gave a confessional statement before a court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In Nagarpur Upazila, police recovered the half-decomposed body of Shawkat Molla, 55, from a jute field in Binnaojha village under Sahabatpur Union on July 1, three days after he had gone missing.
Shawkat was the son of the late Joyed Ali Molla of Nalsandhya Village.
Another victim, Chanowar Mia, was killed following a clash with his cousins over picking jackfruits from a tree in Krishnapur Madhyapara Village of Baghil Union in Tangail Sadar.
The clash took place on June 28 while Chanowar, son of Abu Hanif, was collecting jackfruits from his own tree. He was first admitted to Tangail General Hospital with critical injuries before being referred to another hospital for advanced treatment, where he died the following day.
Prof Dr Muhammad Omar Faruk of the Department of Criminology and Police Science at Maulana Bhashani Science and Technology University attributed the rise in violent crime to the erosion of social values.
"The current society is witnessing a severe decline in moral and social values. Addressing this requires greater social, political and economic awareness. Such values must be nurtured from the family and grassroots level. Excessive dependence on mobile devices among the younger generation has also contributed to this moral decline," he said.
Tangail Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Md Adibul Islam echoed similar concerns, saying the lack of family guidance has accelerated social degradation.
"In the past, parents kept close track of their children's activities, especially after evening. Today, many young people are heavily addicted to mobile devices, making them more vulnerable to criminal activities. Parents must play a stronger role in providing moral education, while offenders must also face legal consequences," he said.
