Police arrested seven people from seven districts of the country who allegedly looted Tk48 lakh from a vehicle on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, posing as members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on October 10.
This was the first such heist on the newly opened expressway. Although the incident occurred nearly two weeks ago, it was made public only when Harun-Or-Rashid, the additional commissioner of the Detective Branch of DMP, held a media briefing on Sunday.
The expressway was opened to traffic on September 3, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated its 22.5km Kawla-Farmgate stretch.
During the briefing at the Media Centre of DMP at Minto Road, Harun named the arrestees as Sabuj Mia, alias Shyamal, 39; Shahrul Islam, alias Sagar, 23; Abu Yusuf, 41; Didar Munshi, 35; Ferdous Wahid, 35; Alamin Duari Dipu, 42; and Daud Hossain Mollah, 39.
He said the detectives seized the private car used in the robbery, fake RAB jackets, handcuffs, toy-like pistols, wireless and mobile phone sets, ornaments bought with the looted money, and Tk23.85 lakh in cash.
The DB official said the gang had long been involved in a "cutout" system of robbery, even changing the nameplates of the used vehicles and damaging mobile phone sets.
On October 10, businessman Sohel Ahmed Sultan's business accountant, Animesh Chandra Saha, withdrew Tk83 lakh from a private bank in Uttara around 3 pm.
Of this, Tk35 lakh was given to one Rajon, a representative of Sohel's business partner, Jafar Iqbal, in the bank, he said.
Later, Animesh and another employee, Shahjahan, boarded their own private vehicle and were heading towards Banani from Uttara with the remaining Tk48 lakh, Harun said.
A maroon private car suddenly intercepted Animesh's vehicle on the Elevated Expressway, adjacent to Khilkhet Dental College, around 4 pm, the DB chief said.
Five to six people, wearing RAB uniforms, emerged from the maroon car and told Animesh that there were arms in their vehicle, he said. The robbers blindfolded and handcuffed Animesh, Shahjahan, and their driver, Abul Bashar.
The robbers looted Tk48 lakh, one blank cheque, and three mobile phone sets from the vehicle and left them at the 300-feet area after driving around several roads in Dhaka, he said.
Later, businessman Sohel filed a case with Khilkhet police station regarding the incident.
The DB members identified the robbers with the help of CCTV footage, statements from the plaintiff, and other technologies, he said.
The robbery, led by Sabuj, was committed, and the looted money was distributed among the robbers, Harun said.
The robbers used the money to pay house rent, buy gold for their wives, engage in gambling, and also set aside an amount for lawyer fees to fight in court, the DB chief said. Efforts are underway to recover the remaining money.
When asked whether any member from the RAB was involved with the robbery gang, he said they found no one like that, but a court mahuri, who joined the gang while dealing with a case, was found.
All the arrestees were professional robbers and are accused in 10-15 cases, including snatching, robbery, extortion, and drug-related offences in 13 districts, including Dhaka, he added.