Headteacher’s death in Dhaka mugging: Two arrested, including ‘Para Ponir’
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has said it arrested two people, including the prime suspect, in connection with the death of headteacher Ranjila Parveen, 56, who fell from an auto-rickshaw after a mugger pulled at her bag in front of the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (National Parliament Building).
The motorcycle used in the incident has also been recovered. RAB-2 said this in a text message sent to the media today, Sunday.
RAB said the main suspect arrested was Poni, also known as ‘Para Ponir’. The name of his accomplice was not disclosed. Further details will be provided at a press briefing at the RAB-2 battalion headquarters in Basila, Mohammadpur, in the capital, at around 4:00 pm today, Sunday.
RAB-2 Commander Additional Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Naimul Hasan will conduct the briefing.
At around midnight last Friday, Ranjina Parveen and her husband, Abdul Matin, travelled to Dhaka by bus from Bogura to see a physician at Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital in the Farmgate area of the capital. They got off the bus at the Kallyanpur terminal in the early hours and were travelling to the hospital by an auto-rickshaw.
As they reached the road in front of the South Plaza of the Parliament building, muggers riding a motorcycle approached from behind and pulled at Ranjina Parveen’s bag. She fell from the auto-rickshaw and sustained a serious head injury. Her husband took her to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, where physicians in the emergency department declared her dead.
Her husband, Abdul Matin, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station in connection with the incident.
Ranjila Parveen was the headteacher of Bagbari Government Girls’ Primary School in Gabtali upazila of Bogura. Their ancestral home is in Tarafsartaj village of Gabtali upazila. Her husband, Abdul Matin, runs a clothing business in the New Market area of Bogura city. Their daughter, Takiya Akter Raisa, is a Class 9 student at Yakubia Girls’ High School.
According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) data, 172 cases were filed over muggings in the capital in the first six months of this year. A total of 402 people were arrested in connection with the incidents. The highest, 38 incidents occurred in the Wari police station area, while 34 muggings took place in various areas under the Tejgaon division.
Also, not all mugging incidents result in cases being filed. In most incidents, victims file a general diary (GD) with the police. In minor incidents, some victims do not even file a GD.