DHAKA: Bangladeshi security forces killed two men on Thursday in a crackdown on rising violent crime, a spokesman said, rejecting fears the deaths appeared to mirror previous notorious tactics of extra-judicial killings.

Sami-Ud-Dowla Chowdhury, spokesman for the security forces, said two men were killed in the early hours of Thursday morning after they shot at officers trying to arrest them in connection to a spate of robberies.

“The perpetrators opened fire from the roof of a single-story building, prompting the team to retaliate,” the security forces said in a statement, saying officers “recovered two dead bodies” as well as machetes and a pistol. Five other men were arrested.

“They were culprits,” Chowdhury said. Bangladesh has been struggling to control crime since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was forced from power in August 2024 by a mass uprising against her iron-fisted rule.

Under her watch, Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies faced accusations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Police in Dhaka said the number of robberies has doubled since January last year.

During Hasina’s rule, the feared paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) carried out scores of killings. The force was slapped with US sanctions in 2021, after which extrajudicial killings stopped.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a leading Bangladeshi human rights organisation, warned against heavy-handed tactics. “We urge law enforcement agencies to conduct raids with caution to avoid loss of lives,” Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir said.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2025