‘Bodies float in rivers with killings every day’, says Jatiya Party’s Anisul

The Jatiya Party leader claims law and order has “severely deteriorated”

Anisul Islam Mahmud, chairman of a faction of the Jatiya Party, has said Bangladesh has seen a breakdown in law and order, pointing to daily killings and bodies found in rivers as signs of “deepening” unrest.

At a memorial and prayer event on Saturday afternoon in Dhaka’s Gulshan, he questioned how a national election could take place in the “current climate of fear and instability”.

According to a media statement issued after the event, the former minister said extortion, criminal cases for profit, and political violence were plaguing cities, towns, and villages alike.

“People are being murdered every day. Unknown bodies are floating in rivers. The law and order situation severely deteriorated. There are no signs of improvement,” he added.

Anisul noted that essential commodity prices had gone beyond the purchasing power of citizens.

“From workers, farmers, garment staff, day labourers, rickshaw pullers, three-wheeler drivers to small traders -- every section of society is suffering.”

He expressed doubt over the credibility of any election held under such conditions.