Robbers receive signal, halt bus, rob Tk 5.7m in 15-20 minutes

Police have arrested two people in connection with the robbery of Tk 5.7 million from a passenger bus on the Teknaf–Cox's Bazar highway in broad daylight. They were arrested during a raid in the Leda area of Hnila Union in Teknaf on Monday night. However, four days after the incident, police have yet to recover the stolen money.

According to the police's preliminary investigation and accounts from passengers, after the bus left Teknaf station, a woman wearing a burqa followed it in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw.

Acting on the signal she gave, a gang of seven to eight robbers came down from the nearby hills and obstructed the bus with tree trunks and planks of wood embedded with nails. Four armed men then boarded the bus and robbed two bKash agents of Tk 5.7 million. During the robbery, the victims were stabbed and beaten.

After the robbery, the gang fled towards the hills. The entire operation—from stopping the bus to escaping with the money—took around 15 to 20 minutes. Police believe the daylight robbery on a busy highway was carefully planned. They are also investigating whether the bus driver, his assistant or any of the passengers were involved.

The robbery took place at around 12:45 pm on 2 August near Bridge No. 14 in the Dumdumia area of Hnila Union in Teknaf. The bus was travelling from Teknaf to Cox's Bazar and was carrying around 30 passengers.

According to police, the case statement and eyewitness accounts, three sales representatives of bKash agents boarded a Palki Paribahan bus after withdrawing cash from two banks in Teknaf on the afternoon of 2 August. They were carrying three separate bags containing cash that was to be distributed among bKash customers in Hnila Bazar.

Ekram Hossain was carrying Tk 3.5 million, Al Arman had Tk 2.2 million, and Abdul Karim was carrying Tk 2.5 million, making a total of Tk 8.2 million. Ekram and Arman were seated together, while Karim was sitting in the seat directly in front of them.

After the bus left Teknaf bus station, passengers noticed a CNG-run auto-rickshaw following it. A woman dressed in a black burqa was travelling in the vehicle. Several passengers said she repeatedly spoke to someone on her mobile phone.

At around 1:00 pm, when the bus reached Bridge No. 14 in the Dumdumia area, the robbers set up a barricade by placing tree trunks and wooden planks embedded with nails across the road.

After the driver brought the bus to a halt, seven to eight masked, armed men came down from the nearby hills and surrounded the vehicle. They fired several blank rounds to intimidate the passengers.

Four of the robbers then boarded the bus. According to the case statement, a man travelling on the bus disguised as a passenger pointed out Ekram and Arman to the gang.

One of the robbers then began trying to snatch the bag of cash from Arman. When he refused to hand it over, he was stabbed in the right side of his back. The robbers then took Tk 2.2 million from him.

Ekram was also assaulted before the robbers seized the Tk 3.5 million he was carrying. They then quickly got off the bus and fled towards the hills. At the same time, according to eyewitnesses, the woman in the auto-rickshaw drove off towards Cox's Bazar.

Passengers said the robbers went straight to the bKash agents' sales representatives and immediately started trying to seize their bags of cash. Police therefore suspect that either one of the gang members already knew the representatives, or someone on the bus had provided information about their identities and the money they were carrying.

On 3 August, Ekram Hossain, a sales representative of a bKash agent, filed a case with Teknaf Model Police Station. The case names seven to eight unidentified individuals as accused.

After the incident, personnel from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police rushed to the scene. Al Arman and Ekram Hossain, who had been injured in the stabbing, were rescued and taken to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex. Arman was later transferred to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.

Abdul Karim, the bKash agent in Teknaf, said that, as on every other day, the three sales representatives had been travelling to Hnila Bazar on 2 August to distribute cash to customers. They were carrying a total of Tk 8.2 million withdrawn from the bank, of which Tk 5.7 million was robbed from two of them.

Abdul Karim said, “A woman in an auto-rickshaw was following the bus. Local people say that the robbers came down from the hills and carried out the robbery after receiving her signal. However, the woman is yet to be identified.”

Police are also trying to identify others who may have been involved in the robbery. According to the case statement, members of the robber gang spoke in the regional dialect of Cox's Bazar.

They were estimated to be between 25 and 35 years old. Some were dusky in complexion, while others were darker-skinned. They were wearing shorts and full-length trousers, sleeveless vests and T-shirts.

Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Model Police Station, told Prothom Alo that investigators have gathered various leads regarding the robbery. They are looking into the report that a woman followed the bus. Police are also investigating whether the bus driver, his assistant or any of the passengers were involved.

Police said two suspects, Akhtar Hossain and Nazrul Islam, were arrested on Monday night during a raid in the Nurali Para area adjacent to the Leda Rohingya refugee camp in Hnila Union on suspicion of involvement in the robbery of Tk 5.7 million. Both are residents of the Leda area, about two kilometres from the scene of the robbery.

Police claim the two men were involved in stopping the bus and robbing the cash. Akhtar Hossain has several criminal cases, including those related to drugs, murder and robbery filed against him.

A source involved in the investigation said those who may have been involved in the robbery include Akhtar Hossain, his brother Iman Hossain, his nephew Kamal Hossain, Azizur Rahman, Mizanur Rahman, Mohammad Alam, Russell and Khalek, among others. Police also suspect that some Rohingya criminals may also have been involved.

Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam said the two arrested men had been produced before the court in connection with the robbery case. Police sought a 10-day remand on Wednesday to question them. However, the court has not yet held a hearing on the remand application.

Police operations are continuing in order to recover the stolen money as well as identify and arrest the remaining suspects involved in the robbery, added the official.