Hatirjheel lake, scenic spot or a crime scene?

A master’s student of International Islamic University Chittagong, Azizul Islam Mehedi, came to Dhaka on October 10, 2020 to attend a job interview.
Two days later, his body was found in Hatirjheel lake with his hands and legs tied to his neck.
Police later found that a childhood friend called him to Dhaka over financial issues, murdered him in Khilkhet and dumped the body in the lake at night.
This event is not an isolated case. Over the past five to six years, at least 36 bodies have been recovered from the Hatirjheel lake area, due to inadequate security and vigilance in the area.
On Wednesday, the body of 32-year-old Rahanuma Sarah, a newsroom editor at the private TV channel GTV, was found floating in the same lake.
Police suspect many of these cases are suicides.
Meanwhile, the insufficient lighting around the lake only exacerbates its vulnerability to criminal activities.
In some instances, criminals have used Hatirjheel lake as a dumping ground for bodies, as was the case with Mehedi.
 Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk) on July 1 this year handed over the responsibility of Hatirjheel’s security to Ansar forces.
Apart from the law enforcement agencies, 118 Ansar members will monitor the area, taking over from a private security agency.
On January 8, 2022, the body of Abdul Bari, a senior production executive at DBC News, was found in the lake with stab wounds to the chest and throat. After a six-month investigation, the detective branch of the police concluded that Bari had taken his own life, using the lake’s secluded environment to do so.
The Hatirjheel lake and its surroundings fall under the jurisdictions of Hatirjheel, Gulshan, and Badda police stations, with the majority under Hatirjheel Police Station.
Former officer-in-charge of Hatirjheel Police Station Shah Md Awlad Hossain said his station alone recovered 27 bodies from the lake in the last five years. Of these, one was confirmed as a murder, another initially suspected to be a suicide was later reclassified as a murder, and the remaining 25 were determined to be suicides.
In the past seven to eight months, police have rescued four to five individuals attempting suicide in the area.
Despite these interventions, the lake remains a hotspot for crime, including mugging, drug peddling, and sexual harassment, largely due to inadequate security measures, alleged locals.
“I avoid traveling through the Hatirjheel lake while going to Karwan Bazar from Modhubagh at night due to fear of being mugged,” said Shafiqul Islam, an employee at the wholesale kitchen market in Karwan Bazar.
Law enforcement agencies have set up round-the-clock patrols, but the open area allows criminals to escape easily.
The existing CCTV cameras are positioned too high to capture clear footage, making it difficult to control the rising crime rate.
Police official Awlad Hossain said they have increased vigilance and regularly arrest criminals. The issues with the cameras have been reported to Rajuk, who plan to reposition them soo, he added.