Muggers in Mohammadpur are no longer waiting for the cover of darkness.

Armed with machetes, knives, and other weapons, they mug in broad daylight.

On Saturday, a 17-year-old college student was mugged near Dhaka State College on Nurjahan Road around 4:15pm.

Three young men stopped the rickshaw he was on and took his phone at knifepoint. The incident was caught on a security camera, and people nearby saw it.

"My son was shaken," said ATM Saiful Islam, who filed a general diary (GD) with Mohammadpur Police Station, reporting a lost phone, but omitting the incident of mugging.

Three other similar incidents happened that day in the area. All of the victims reported that they had lost their belongings.

"If people are mugged on busy streets in broad daylight, how can they feel safe in this neighbourhood?" asked Rabeya Islam, a resident of Mohammadpur.

In January alone, police and Rab teams arrested at least 142 suspects with criminal records in Mohammadpur and its adjacent areas, according to text messages sent by the law enforcers.

They told this correspondent that they had not mentioned the mugging because they did not want to go to court to testify during the lengthy trial proceedings.

In one of the incidents that happened right next to the police station around 8:25pm, an O-levels student was "robbed of his very expensive iPhone 15 Pro, wallet, and watch", said his elder brother Tanjil Islam Tanvir.

The muggers, three men with sharp weapons, even forced the boy to tell them the password to his phone.

Around 7:00pm the same day, United International University student Suad Hossain was mugged near Tin Rastar Mor on Mohammadpur Beribandh, which is a busy road. The muggers, wearing masks, took his phone and wallet.

In another incident, Riaz Islam, an employee of a shipping company, was mugged in Nobodoy Housing.

"The miscreants made off with Tk 3,000," he said.

Police officers say the actual number of muggings could be higher because many people do not even file general diaries.

Tanvir Islam, a software engineer, said he was mugged on the walkway along the Turag river in Mohammadpur's Dhaka Udyan area two weeks ago.

"But I did not go to the police," he said.

He said he caught a man who tried to snatch his phone in Nobodoy Housing on September 17.

"I handed the man to the cops and filed a case with Mohammadpur Police Station. But the police kept my phone as evidence, and advised me to get a court order to get it back. Who would want this kind of hassle?" he asked.

"No hour is safe on some streets of Mohammadpur. Not only are they robbing, but they are also stabbing and hacking people."

Mohammadpur resident Roksana Parvin said her 20-year-old son was mugged on December 20 near Kisholoy Girls School and College on Tajmahal Road.

"The police told us to file a GD," she said, adding that the phone remains unrecovered.

A PERSISTENT THREAT

Locals say mugging incidents are prevalent in Bosila, Tin Rastar Mor, Dhaka Udyan, Nobodoy Housing, Chand Udyan, Bosila Garden City, 40 Feet Road, Chandrima Housing, Ekota Housing, and Nabinagar.

On October 19, three people were mugged on 40-Feet Road around 3:30pm.

The next day, a gang of robbers wielding machetes stopped a microbus of a company in Mohammadia Housing around 9:45am and took away Tk 10.75 lakh in cash.

On October 21, a female university student was mugged near her home in Nobodoy Housing around 6:30am. In a 33-second security camera footage that went viral, a young man in black shorts and four others with knives are seen snatching her purse.

On October 24, several men entered a grocery store on the 40-Feet Road, held the shopkeeper at knifepoint, and looted the cash register.

Recently, a video went viral on social media showing a teenage boy hacking another boy with a machete in broad daylight in the Dhaka Udyan area.

Locals say teen and youth gangs are often behind these reckless crimes.

There are allegations that during the Awami League regime, these gangs were protected by the Chhatra League and Jubo League.

Locals say turf wars among these gangs have also become common in recent weeks.

Amid the situation, the army has set up camps in the area to curb crime.

According to an intelligence report, there are at least 432 spots where muggings take place frequently. Of those places, Mohammadpur has 108. The report mentions 205 individuals identified as active muggers in Mohammadpur.

Contacted, Mohammad Ibne Mizan, Deputy Commissioner (Tejgaon Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said, "A large number of homeless people live and work in Mohammadpur. The suspects can easily flee to Gabtoli, Old Dhaka, and Keraniganj through the Beribadh.

"We made a list based on last year's data. Police will now increase vigilance and patrolling."

Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam at a crime review meeting of Dhaka Metropolitan Police recently said the police must make every effort to stop crimes like extortion and mugging.

At the meeting, DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said police would practice a zero-tolerance policy for snatchers and extortionists.