Planning minister's mobile phone snatched

Planning minister MA Mannan's iPhone was snatched at the capital’s Bijoy Sarani on Sunday evening.

The minister himself told newspersons about the incident after a meeting of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the NEC conference room in the capital’s Sher-E-Bangla Nagar on Tuesday.

MA Mannan said he was going home from his office around 7:00pm on Sunday. His vehicle was stuck in traffic on Bijoy Sarani and he was on the phone. The window of the vehicle was open and suddenly someone snatched his cell phone.

The minister instantly told his gunman, but the gunman couldn’t catch the snatcher.

The phone hasn’t been recovered as yet, he added.

Minister MA Mannan received a replacement SIM.

Meanwhile, the minister’s personal officer Humayun Kabir filed a case (No. 36) with Kafrul police station over the incident.

According to the case statement, the planning minister left office by a government vehicle (Dhaka Metro Gha-18-5824) for his Bailey Road residence at 6:50pm. As the vehicle was standing at the Bijoy Sarani signal, the minister was speaking over the phone with the vehicle’s window open. An unidentified thief stanched his black iPhone X (IMEI no.-35727509275484) from his hand and ran away. Though the gunman who was with the minster chased the thief, the thief managed to escape.

Sources said the spot where the incident took place falls under the jurisdiction of Kafrul police station whereas the opposite side of the road to which the thief ran away falls under the jurisdiction of Tejgaon police station.

As a result, forces from both Kafrul and Tejgaon police are working to recover the phone though the planning minister said his cell phone hasn’t been recovered as yet.