Miscreants blocked the road by tying ropes between trees and robbed two motorcyclists after attacking them in Akkelpur upazila of Joypurhat.
The assailants beat the two riders, tied them up, and left them in a paddy field before stealing their motorcycles.
The incident took place on the Akkelpur-Srirampur road in Bara Kalorbhat area of Akkelpur municipality between 9pm and 10pm on Monday.
Nearly two hours later, one of the victims managed to untie the other using his teeth.
The victims are Shaon Hossain, son of deceased Mozam Uddin, and Manjurul Alam, a sales representative of Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical.
Shaon’s 100cc Bajaj and Manjurul’s Discover motorcycles were taken.
According to local sources and the victims, Manjurul was returning to Akkelpur from Srirampur Market around 9pm when he encountered the rope barrier on the road.
As he stopped his motorcycle, a group of eight to ten armed miscreants emerged from the fields, assaulted him, and bound his hands and feet before leaving him in a paddy field.
Shortly after, Shaon, on his way to Bhadrakhali village, encountered the same trap.
He was also attacked, beaten, and left bound beside Manjurul.
The miscreants assigned two guards with weapons to watch over them, but the guards left after midnight.
Shaon managed to free Manjurul, and they reported the incident to locals.
The next morning, cigarette packets and a disposable tea cup were found at the scene, suggesting the robbers spent some time there.
Manjurul described the ordeal, saying: “When I was returning from work, my path was blocked by ropes. Masked assailants with weapons attacked, blindfolded, and tied me up before taking my motorcycle, Tk8,500, and mobile phone. Later, they brought another person and did the same to him.”
Shaon recalled: “Around 10pm, 8-10 men blocked my way. One was unmasked. When I shouted, they beat me and took my motorcycle and phone. They had already caught another man and left us under guard. After midnight, we managed to free ourselves.”
Local residents Dolon Hossain from Hastabsantpur report that such incidents have become more frequent in the absence of night-time police patrols.
“Police used to patrol the main roads at night, but not anymore, which has led to a rise in robberies,” he said.
Akkelpur police station Officer-in-Charge Mainul Islam said: “We are aware of the robbery. Police are working to apprehend the criminals, and night-time patrols will be strengthened on key roads.”