Saying the authorities have decided to tackle this situation, the home minister assured the delegation of all-out support.

50 leaders of 34 associations of shop-owners met the Home Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury at an opinion-sharing meeting in the home ministry.

The association leaders said muggers attack their people when they go to the old part of the city to collect goods.

Commenting that security measures inside their markets were satisfactory, association leader Helal Uddin added, "We also want to ensure the security of customers outside the markets."

"We have identified the mugging-prone areas of the city," the home minister told newsmen.

"Both uniformed and plain-clothes policemen have already been deployed in every market in the city," the home minister said.

Besides 22 mobile courts, the government has already set up traffic facilities in 40 areas and set up 40 mobile camps. The mobile camps and strike forces will rush to the spot of any mugging incident.