1,142 murders from January to April alone — just four months. That means an average of three dead bodies every single day. Three families destroyed daily.
Add to that 5,998 cases of violence against women and children. More than 50 every day. One every half hour — day and night. In bedrooms, kitchens, streets. This is Bangladesh after February 2026.
After years of living in London amid corruption allegations, Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh and dramatically declared: “I have a plan.” He said it confidently. People wondered what grand vision he had. Four months later, the plan seems clear enough now: grab power first, worry about the rest later.
There’s little left to say about the February 12 election. The people of the country already know what happened. Major parties were absent, voters were absent, genuine competition was absent. What remained was a staged arrangement to capture power. Those who became ministers and placed national flags on their official cars are now responsible for maintaining law and order. So what exactly are they doing?
On April 28, a man was shot dead in broad daylight at Dhaka’s New Market area, in front of countless people. Even after fifteen days, police failed to arrest the killer. Whether they could not or did not want to is for the police to explain. But the result is the same: the killers remain free while the victim’s family wanders in search of justice.
In Kapasia, Gazipur, five members of the same family died. Five people. An entire family wiped out in one night. In Rajbari, a mother and daughter were murdered and buried in the ground. In Barishal, a fish trader was hacked to death. These are not yearly statistics — these are just one week’s headlines.
And what did the Inspector General of Police say in response? He claimed that police themselves are under attack. Even if that is partly true, it is not an answer. When a state fails to protect its citizens, that is failure. Counter-complaints cannot erase that responsibility.
A criminology professor directly stated that the necessary post-election measures were never taken at the state level. In one sentence, he summarized the government’s incompetence. Any government must set priorities after taking power. Looking at the results, it is now clear what this government prioritized — and what it neglected.
The BNP itself was born outside a democratic process. Its relationship with power has often depended less on public mandate and more on other calculations. This time followed the same familiar script: keep the main opposition out, stage an election, then claim legitimacy. But legitimacy cannot survive only on paper. It must be proven in people’s lives.
So far, that proof does not exist. Instead, the statistics grow heavier every day. Reports showing victims’ families failing to get justice are not merely stories of police failure. They reflect the story of a state that no longer feels accountable to its people — because it knows the ballot box no longer frightens it.
And the people are still waiting to see Tarique Rahman’s “plan” — even if it arrives in the form of three dead bodies every day.