Thief calls up police in Bangladesh to avoid mob lynching

Dhaka, Oct 20 (EFE).- A thief ended up calling the police in the middle of a burglary in southern Bangladesh due to the fear of being discovered and lynched by a mob, a police officer told EFE on Thursday.

The thief had broken into a grocery store in a market in the city of Barishal, and according to the local police in-charge Asaduzzaman Khan, the burglar panicked when he realized he had spent more time at the spot than anticipated.

Dawn had already broken out when the thief decided to flee with his spoils, and shoppers had begun arriving at the market.

“He thought he could be lynched and called on the national emergency number 999. (…) He admitted to us that he was there for a burglary. He pleaded with us to save his life,” Khan told EFE.

A police patrol “rescued” the man from the real or imaginary danger of lynching.

“I have never seen such a thing in my career,” the officer said, adding that the man was a “habitual” thief who already had similar charges pending against him.

Human rights group Ain o Shalish Kendra has repeatedly denounced a culture of mob lynching in Bangladesh, alleging that 28 people have been killed by mobs so far this year, with the same number being killed throughout 2021.

In its latest report on the human rights situation in Bangladesh, ASK alleged that the country lacks specific laws to deal with lynching, although the Supreme Court has issues a series of instructions to the interior ministry, such as the mandatory lodging of complaints in such cases. EFE

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