4 policemen, journo jailed for snatching

A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced four railway policemen and a journalist of a local weekly newspaper to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for robbing a man of cash and gold ornaments last year.

Each convict was also handed down a Tk 10,000 fine, in default of which each will have to serve an additional two months in prison.

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The incident took place on September 17, 2015 near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital and a case was filed the next day with Government Railway Police Station. 

The convicted members of the railway police are Shah Alam and Aminul Islam Rana, assistant sub-inspectors; and Raja Babu alias Raj and Ashiqur Rahman, constables.

The fifth convict is Pavel Ahmed, a reporter of the Weekly Motprokash.

Court sources said the four accused policemen were placed under temporary suspension following their arrest and they were permanently suspended as a result of the judgement.

Judge SM Kuddus Zaman of Dhaka District and Sessions Judge's Court passed the order in presence of all the convicts.

The court acquitted Nazmul Hossain, an accomplice of one of the convicts, as the charges brought against him were not proven.

The court, during the trial, recorded statements from 17 prosecution witnesses including that of the complainant.

According to the case statement, the victim, Saiful Islam, was allegedly robbed of 100 grams of gold ornaments, two mobile handsets and Tk 2,20,000 in cash -- sent by his paternal uncle Mohammad Shahin from Singapore -- near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on September 17, 2015.

The four policemen and the journalist mugged Saiful after he went to the airport at about 9:45pm to collect the items, added the statement.