THE horrific murder of a woman and her uncle-in-law inside her Pallabi apartment exemplifies how vulnerable ordinary citizens have become even in their own home. Sweeti Khanum and Aminul Islam were hacked to death by two assailants who claimed to be relatives of the victims to the security guards. Sweeti's husband, Zahidul Islam who discovered the bloodied bodies of his wife and uncle, had filed a general diary at the Pallabi police station after local extortionists threatened to kill his wife and son if he didn't meet their demands. This is yet another grisly murder in the list of similar incidents all over the country. Earlier this month a mother and daughter were also hacked to death in Chittagong, the murderers fleeing with cash and ornaments, with no arrests being made till date. 

The frequency of such murders within the walls of the victims' homes or near them, point out to the lack of police patrolling in neighbourhoods and streets that once used to be deterrents for criminals. It seems the police forces are being spread too thin across the cities with a lot more emphasis on security for VIPs than that of ordinary folk. While it is not possible to predict such ghoulish killings it is possible to deter assassins with adequate security measures. In the unfortunate event when such a murder takes place it is the police's job to properly investigate the case using all the resources available. This includes the use of human intelligence; in such densely populated cities and town, the police can make good use of the wide network of informers at their disposal to find the killers. The successful nabbing of these murderers and more vigilant police patrols can help to bring down such bone-chilling crimes.