On the afternoon of July 9, 2025, an appalling scene unfolded in front of Mitford Hospital in Old Dhaka. A crowd surrounded a body lying on the ground as several people hurled large stones at it. This was how Mohammad Sohag, 39, a scrap metal trader known as Lal Chand, was brutally murdered. The attackers didn’t stop there — they stood over his chest and celebrated wildly after killing him. The gruesome spectacle shocked the entire nation. Barely a month later, on August 7, journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin was hacked and his throat slit in Gazipur after filming footage of an armed group’s violence. Most recently, on Monday, November 10, Tarik Saif Mamun (55) was gunned down in broad daylight near the National Medical College Hospital in Dhaka while returning from a court appearance related to a 29-year-old murder case. Two assailants approached him from behind, fired multiple shots at close range, and walked away calmly as he fell to the ground, dying on the spot.
Such incidents are no longer isolated. Across Bangladesh, people are losing their lives daily to violent murders, mob beatings, political vengeance, and domestic conflicts. From politics to family life, a culture of brutality and revenge seems to have permeated every layer of society, eroding the core of human values.
According to the human rights organization Odhikar, between August 2024 and September 2025, 281 people were killed and 6,698 injured in political violence. 153 individuals died in mob beatings, 40 in extrajudicial killings, and 88 died in custody.
Experts point to weak rule of law and a culture of impunity as the key drivers of this growing wave of violence. Criminals often escape justice, trials are delayed, and trust in the legal system continues to erode. Alongside this, the breakdown of family and social bonds, the decline in empathy, and the normalization of violence are pushing society into deeper instability.
They emphasize that curbing violence requires expanding mental health services, ensuring swift and fair trials, strengthening ethical and empathy-based education in schools and families, involving media and religious institutions in awareness efforts, and monitoring hate speech and incitement on digital platforms.
Dr. Shahana Parvin, Associate Professor at the National Institute of Mental Health, explained:
“There are multiple reasons why people are becoming increasingly cruel. Humans have always had violent instincts for survival, but now revenge and power have become ingrained in our social culture. People are killing over trivial issues—sometimes in public, sometimes in secret.”
She added:
“Personality plays a major role here. Some people are impulsive, intolerant, and prone to aggression. Childhood trauma or exposure to violence often breeds a tendency for revenge later in life. If a child grows up witnessing cruelty, that brutality becomes part of their psyche.”
Dr. Parvin further noted that society now tends to glorify violence.
“In films, on social media, and even in politics, killers and criminals are sometimes treated like heroes—welcomed with flowers. This glorification fuels the desire for power and domination. Some people even derive satisfaction by oppressing or killing others to mask their insecurities or feelings of inadequacy.”
She stressed that laws alone are not enough; restoring mental health care, ethical education, and family-based empathy is essential to reversing this social decay.
Dr. Towhidul Haque, Associate Professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, echoed similar concerns:
“Brutal killings, mob beatings, and other forms of violence are not just personal acts of anger or revenge—they reflect deep-rooted illness within our social system. Weak rule of law, delayed justice, and fragile social cohesion all embolden offenders.”
He added:
“When perpetrators go unpunished or trials drag on for years, violence becomes a way for them to assert power. The erosion of trust within families and communities—between spouses, parents and children, even neighbors—creates an environment where crime can thrive.”
Monira Rahman, Country Lead of Mental Health First Bangladesh, observed:
“Cruelty doesn’t emerge overnight. When crimes go unpunished and there’s no collective resistance, people gradually start accepting violence as normal. We may feel temporary outrage, but as a society, we remain silent.”
She continued:
“Without a culture of compassion, tolerance, and care, hatred and resentment grow—and violent behavior becomes normalized. The wave of violence since 2024 shows how weak our moral protest and social resistance have become. Our silence only emboldens criminals.”
According to Monira Rahman:
“This trend cannot be stopped by law enforcement alone. Families, schools, communities, and social institutions must revive the practice of empathy, ethics, and human values. Otherwise, this cruelty will take even deeper root in society.”
Every day, someone loses their life to violence. To build a peaceful and humane society, Bangladesh must restore not only the rule of law but also the culture of empathy and compassion.
Until people learn to restrain their anger, hatred, and desire for revenge, this cycle of violence will continue—experts warn.