200 'robbers' raid market, loot huge jewellery, cash
A big gang of 'robbers' looted 788 tolas of gold and silver jewellery and over Tk 5 lakh in cash from six shops in Sreenagar upazila of the district early yesterday.
Mizanur Rahman, officer in-charge of Sreenagar police station, quoting witnesses, said around 200 robbers, identifying themselves as law enforcers, decamped with 238 tolas gold, 550 tolas silver and the cash money.
The robbers came to Baghra bazaar on the bank of Padma River around midnight by three trawlers, and raided it for over two hours, the OC said.
In several groups, they took control over the entire bazaar within 30 minutes at gunpoint and entered four jewellery shops owned by Narendra Karmakar, Madak Pal, Bimal Pal and Madan Das.
They also beat up the staff of the shops as they refused to surrender the keys of the lockers.
The gang looted cash Tk 5 lakh, including Tk 1,70,000 from the clothing shop of Bipul Mollah and Tk 30,000 from the tea stall of Alauddin, during robbery.
Secretary of Baghra Bazar Committee said that the gang tied up the four night guards and beat them mercilessly. They also beat up several shop owners and workers of the market.
Sources said, Baghra is one of the most remote areas of Sreenagar. Although the locals demanded setting up a police camp there several times, no step was taken in this regard.
In Jessore, robbers looted valuables worth Tk five lakh from a house at Khojarhat village in Sadar upazila early yesterday.
The gang also injured house owner Babar Ali, his wife Khadija Begum, three sons -- Hashem Ali Mollah, Hazrat Ali Mollah and Yeakub Ali Mollah, reports our Benapole correspondent.
Babar Ali said, a gang of robbers stormed into his house at about 3:30am and took the members of the house hostage at gunpoint.
Later, they hit them with sharp weapons and looted goods from the house.
In Shibchar upazila of Madaripur, an armed gang looted the house of a freedom fighter.
On Friday midnight, 10-12 masked men swooped into the house of Yakub Ali at Utrail village in Shirnail union and decamped with 5 tolas gold ornaments, cash Tk 70 thousand, mobiles sets and other valuables, reports our correspondent.
Meanwhile, patrol police arrested six robbers from a bus in Moinamoti Cantonment area in Comilla on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway while looting passengers early yesterday, reports UNB.
Police said when the Comilla-bound bus of Tisha Paribahan from Sayedabad in Dhaka reached Shahidnagar area of Daudkandi upazila at about 12.15am, a gang of nine robbers, who were travelling in the guise of passengers, beat up the bus driver severely and took control of the bus.
On hearing the incident, the law enforcers with the help of locals stopped the bus in Cantonment area and held the six robbers while others managed to flee.
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