The miscreants involved with robbery on a running bus and molestation of female passengers are drug addicts. They bought hemp in exchange for a mobile phone snatched from the bus.
The gang’s identity was revealed by a hemp (ganja) dealer. Police later arrested three of them, said police officials involved with the process.
Police officials said the persons involved with robbery on the bus were drug addicts. They used to get involved with robbery, snatching and other crimes in Savar and Ashulia area to collect money for drugs.
The incident of robbery took place on a bus of ‘Amri Travels’ from Unique Road Royals that left Dhaka for Rajshahi at 11:00pm on Monday night. According to passengers, the robbery started around 12:35 am. After robbery the passengers for three hours, the muggers directed the bus back to the same spot and got off at 3:52 am. Three days later, a passenger of the bus named Omar Ali filed a case with Mirzapur police station on Thursday night.
Investigator of the case, Md Ahsanuzzaman, a sub inspector of district detective branch, said he used technology to find that the members of the gang are from the Ashulia. He later learnt through a source that some drug addict youth of the area hold up buses and regularly buy hemp and heroin from a local drug dealer in Savar area. On Friday afternoon, the drug dealer was arrested in front of a petrol pump on Chandra-Nabinagar highway.
Md Ahsanuzzaman said the drug dealer informed police that some people including Shahidul, Sobuj and Sharifuzzaman bought hemp from him. Police launched the drive to nab the muggers taking the drug dealer with them. Md Sabuj and Sharifuzzaman were detained from an automobile garage in Savar’s Genda area around 5:00pm. Another member of the gang, Shahidul Islam, was detained later. These three persons confessed to their involvement during interrogation, said the police officer.
Shahidul Islam alias Mohidul alias Muhit is son of Badar Uddin Sheikh from Lautara village under Daulatpur upazila in Manikganj, Sabuj is son of Ismail Mollah of Ramkrishnapur village in Shariatpur’s Jajira and Sharifuzzaman is son of Abul Hossain from Savar’s Tangenda area. Shahidul Islam is accused in two bus robbery cases and three narcotics cases. Detective Branch (DB) of police has taken Shahidul to five-day remand.
Police said Sabuj and Sharifuzzaman have confessed to their crimes to Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Tangail. They revealed names of three more involved with the crime.
Investigation officer Md Ahsanuzzaman said no female passengers were raped during the robbery but they were molested.
Effort is on to arrest others involved with the robbery, he added.