1 year of lawlessness: Mobocracy still reigns supreme

On 9 August, in Rangpur's Taraganj upazila, two men were pleading for their lives.

"I am not a thief; I am a cobbler who mends shoes in Taraganj Bazaar," cried 40-year-old Ruplal Das. Beside him, his relative, 35-year-old Pradeep Lal, sat slumped on a van, accused of drugging and robbing its pullers. 

A crowd of hundreds surrounded them. A young man suggested calling the police. Another shouted back, "You are the father of all thieves!" Moments later, the mob descended, beating the two until they collapsed.

Ruplal died at the local health complex; Pradeep succumbed to his injuries hours later in Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Surveys also indicate this growing concern. A joint poll by Voice for Reform and the Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) in July 2025 found that 80% of respondents were worried about rising mob violence, up from 7% who cited law and order as a top concern in October last year.

The brutality was captured on video, and the clip quickly went viral, showing how public anger, suspicion and misinformation can combine to form lethal force. Ruplal's wife, Bharati Rani, has filed a murder case against 700 unnamed individuals.

Police have arrested four men after reviewing the footage. The officer-in-charge of Taraganj Police Station said that more arrests will be made. But for many, the damage is irreparable — another life lost in a year where mob violence has reached alarming levels.

The video circulating on social media is itself very disturbing and serves as a cautionary tale of how Bangladeshis are, albeit slowly, moving away from humanity. Otherwise, how can a group of people beat someone so mercilessly to death?   

A surge in mob violence

Data from multiple human rights organisations show a sharp rise in mob attacks since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on 5 August 2024.

The Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) reports that in the first seven months of the interim government's tenure, at least 119 people were killed and 74 injured in 114 incidents of mob violence.  Data by Manobadhikar Sangskriti Foundation (MSF) shows that between January and July this year, 78 people died in such attacks; by 10 August, the death toll had risen to 87, with 266 injured.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) counted 111 people killed in mob incidents from 1 January to 10 August alone. In the first 10 days of August, there were at least 13 such attacks nationwide, leaving nine dead and 13 injured.

Surveys also indicate a growing concern over mob violence. A joint poll by Voice for Reform and the Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) in July 2025 found that 80% of respondents were worried about rising mob violence, up from 7% who cited law and order as a top concern in October last year. 

A survey of Bangladeshi youths by SANEM (South Asian Network on Economic Modelling) in the same month found that 71% believe mob justice is increasingly affecting daily life.

A year of lawlessness

The ouster of Hasina created a power vacuum. Law enforcement agencies, targeted in street attacks, retreated. Police abandoned their posts, leaving communities vulnerable. In that space, mobs became enforcers — settling scores, silencing dissent and targeting anyone linked, even tenuously, to the old regime.

Victims ranged from political activists and government staff to ordinary citizens accused of petty crimes. Mob assaults were also weaponised in political disputes, with political parties accused of mobilising crowds to further their agendas.

Notable incidents include: On 25 August 2024, students led by Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam clashed with Ansar members, injuring over 40; on 11 September 2024, political figure Mohammad Farokul Islam led an assault on women in Cox's Bazar; on 18 September that year, a mentally ill man was killed at Dhaka University, and a former student leader was lynched at Jahangirnagar University. 

In November last year, protesters targeted The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, vandalising offices and slaughtering a cow outside; in February, a mob stormed and damaged Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Dhanmondi 32 residence following social media calls for a "Bulldozer Procession".

In May, the NCP besieged the Chief Adviser's residence with 25,000 supporters; in July, NCP rallies in Gopalganj and Cox's Bazar came under mob attack. 

Gendered and cultural repression also emerged. A women's football match was halted in January while two women were assaulted in March for smoking. Other mobs raided homes and police stations, sometimes even influencing outcomes of legal disputes.

Previously speaking to The Business Standard on the mob issue, criminologist Dr Tawohidul Haque of Dhaka University warned that mob behaviour spreads "like a communicable disease".

"If this mob is accepted somewhere, or if the opportunity is given for it to gain social, legal, or political legitimacy, then various people take advantage of it in various ways. If just one or two such incidents were punished, today's situation would not exist."

He said law enforcement has been hesitant, lacking clear directives. "They did not receive any strong comments or instructions from the government. So they are haunted by fear of reprisal, criticism, or departmental action," he opined.

Political analyst Altaf Parvez said, "There's action to be taken here, and that responsibility lies with the current government. But when it was needed most, they didn't do their job. That's the government's failure."

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has failed to impose order. Early statements appeared to excuse mob behaviour, such as when the Chief Adviser's Office called the destruction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence in Dhanmondi-32 "undesirable" but blamed it on Hasina's "provocative speech" abroad.

After criticism, the administration vowed "immediate and strict action" against those destabilising the country, pledging to protect citizens' lives and property. But by then, a culture of impunity had taken root.

While the police have often stood by or arrived late after the trail went cold, the army has taken a firmer stance. Deployments in some districts, including Rangpur after the lynching of Ruplal and Pradeep, helped calm tensions. The military has declared "zero tolerance" against mob violence, and incidents have since declined — though not disappeared.

The scale and frequency of incidents have led some to label the situation as "mobocracy". Over 200 protests have taken place in the capital since the change of government, with streets becoming arenas for settling political and personal disputes.

Angry mobs have also harassed journalists, targeted minority groups, and influenced judicial processes. Extremist religious elements are suspected in some attacks. The danger, analysts say, is that these tactics get normalised over time, undermining formal governance.

Beyond the political implications, surveys reveal how deeply ordinary citizens feel the threat. In the BIGD poll, 61% said they feared going out at night, and 56% were concerned about women's safety. The Sanem survey found that more than 80% of youth worried about broader lawlessness, from arson to theft.

For families like Ruplal's, the statistics are painfully personal. His daughter's marriage search has been replaced with funeral rites. "They didn't listen," his wife Bharati told reporters, standing before a crowd that blocked the Rangpur–Dinajpur highway in protest.

The army's intervention has slowed the pace of mob attacks, but experts caution that enforcement alone cannot undo the damage. As Dr Haque notes, without political will and consistent legal consequences, mobs will continue to fill perceived power vacuums.