Muggers in action wearing DB jackets

Six criminals in disguise of Detective Branch officials took away Tk 17.50 lakh from officials of a private jute mill in Harian area of Rajshahi city yesterday, just four days after a similar incident happened in the city.

Around 12:30pm, the muggers, wearing Detective Branch jackets and brandishing firearms, waylaid the pickup van of Rahman Jute and Spinning Mill. After the vehicle stopped, the men demanded to search the vehicles. Finding the money, they took it, said officials of the jute mill and police.

Fazlur Rahman, managing director of Rahman Jute and Spinning Mills, sent two of his officials to National Bank at Shaheb Bazar in the city at 10:30am to withdraw Tk 17.50 lakh for paying the weekly wages of labourers.

They withdrew the money at 11:30am and started for the jute mill, Fazulr said, quoting his staff.

Suddenly, six people in three motorcycles, waylaid their pickup van near a brick kiln in Harian area, he said.

They identified themselves as members of the DB and asked the officials -- accountant Mominul Islam Naya, field officer Aninda Kumar Chowdhury Punam, and their driver, Taybur Islam Dulal -- to step out.

When the officials tried to contact their head office, the muggers seized their mobile phones. They took the key of their vehicle and began searching it.

At one stage, two of the criminals took the bag with the money and sped away in a motorcycle. The others followed them.

“My men could not understand what to do in that situation,” said Fazlur.

Police picked up the two mill officials and the driver and took them to Motihar Police Station for questioning, said Mehedi Hasan, OC of Motihar Police Station.

The mill authority was yet to file a case regarding the incident. Police have begun investigation into the matter, said the OC.

On October 2, two people identifying themselves as members of the same law enforcement agency took away Tk 4.60 lakh from a woman at the city's Ranibazar area.

Police gathered CCTV footage of the mugging but they are yet to ascertain the identities of those involved.

Al Amin, assistant commissioner of DB in Rajshahi city, said they were also investigating the incident. “We captured some faces from the footage; we are working to identify them,” he said.