Agyan Party activities on rise in port city
Activities of Agyan Party, a gang of criminals who drug people before mugging them, marked an alarming rise in the port city despite tight security measures by the law enforcement agencies during the last few months.
The muggers have continued to carry out their activities under the nose of the members of the law enforcement agencies to target the innocent people, particularly the passengers, in the port city.
With a view to bringing the law and order situation under control, Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) beefed up security ahead of Eid-Ul-Azha. Ten incidents of mugging took place last week by the members of Agyan Party.
Eleven people fell victim to the Agyan Party members and were hospitalised in critical condition in different areas of the city on Tuesday and Wednesday when they were going home to celebrate the Eid.
Six people were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Tuesday while five others the following day (Wednesday), the day before Eid, CMCH sources said.
Mohammad Fazal, 35, and Rezaul Karim, 30, two friends, were found unconscious in an inter-district bus from Hathazari at around 11:30am on Wednesday.
Chotan Rudra, 28, fell victim to the miscreants the same day while he was going to the GEC area from Olankar intersection in a city service bus and lost his cellphone set and money in cash, said the sources.
Other passengers rushed Chotan to the CMCH at around 3:00pm in an unconscious state.
Locals recovered Khorshedul Alam, 50, from the New Market area at 2:30pm and took him to CMCH. Khorshed was returning to his residence after shopping at New Market. The miscreants looted his valuables, said the nurses at the hospital.
Locals found an unidentified person aged about 55 lying unconscious on the road in the busy Patherghata area at around 4:00pm.
Dr Faiz Ahmad Khandaker, assistant registrar of the medicine ward No 14 at CMCH, said most of the victims took foods like juice, coconut juice or biscuits with sedatives in them given by the unknown persons.
He said elderly persons having different physical complaints like diabetes can die after taking such drugs.
Staffs of a Chittagong-bound inter-city bus caught one Suman, a member of Agyan Party, at Nurjahan Hotel at Comilla on December 15 while he was trying to loot valuables of a passenger named Kumaraddin after making him unconscious. They handed him over to Pahartali police.
According to his confessional statement, police arrested one Shahajahan from a residential hotel in the Sayedabad area of the capital on December 19, police said.
Iltutmish, assistant commissioner (AC) of Pahartali Police, said Shahjahan's men usually mix one kind of sedative imported from Pakistan, having no taste or smell, with different kinds of tasty foods like sandwich or juice to feed their targets.
Stressing the need for creating mass awareness against taking foods from unknown persons while travelling, Iltumish said police are on alert and trying best to check such incidents in the bus terminals.
He said several gangs of muggers might be involved in such activities as the drugs are available in local markets at cheaper rates.
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