Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained ten more people, including the mastermind behind the robbery and gang rape of a female passenger on a moving bus.
They were arrested after the elite police unit conducted drives in Dhaka, Gazipur and Sirajganj on Sunday, Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of RAB Legal and Media Wing, said while briefing reporters on Monday.
The detainees have been identified as mastermind Ratan Hossain, 21, Md Alauddin, 24, Sohag Mondol, 20, Khandakar Md Hasmat Ali alias Dipu, 23, Md Babu Hossain alias Julhas, 21, Md Jibon, 21, Md Abdul Mannan, 22, Md Nayeem Sarkar, 19, Russell Talukdar, 32, and Md Aslam Talukdar alias Raihan.
RAB also seized 20 mobile phone sets, two silver bangles, 14 SIM (subscriber identity module) cards and a sharp weapon used in robbery from their possession.
During primary interrogation, it was known that mastermind Ratan served jail for one and a half years for robbing a bus of ‘Savar Paribahan’ along with Jibon, who was a helper of a bus, in 2018. After being released from jail on bail in 2020, Ratan snatched an auto-rickshaw and again jailed for another year.
After being released on bail, he and his gang committed robberies on the highways in Savar, Gazipur or Sirajganj areas.
During the robbery in Tangail, Jibon was engaged in looting the goods of the passengers.
Legal steps will be taken against the detainees, the official added.
On the night of August 2, a group of robbers boarded a Chittagong-bound bus of Eagle Express masquerading as passengers and soon took control of the vehicle.
They snatched money, mobile phones and other valuables from passengers of the bus.
They also raped two female passengers of the bus and dumped one of them in a roadside ditch.
At around 3am on Wednesday, the group drove the bus into a sand pile opposite Roktipara Jamme Mosque in Madhupur and fled the area.
Hekmat Ali, a passenger of the bus, filed a case at Madhupur police station accusing 10-12 unknown persons over the incident.