Passengers recount a terrifying robbery on a moving bus along the Dhaka-Rajshahi route, where criminals looted valuables and assaulted travellers earlier this week.
Sohag Hossain, 23, and Omar Ali, 52, sell betel nuts and date molasses in Dhaka. Over 11 days, they had earned Tk1.2 lakh. Last Monday night, they boarded a bus from Gabtoli, Dhaka, to return home to Baraigram, Natore. However, on the way, a gang of robbers looted everything from them on the moving bus. Other passengers also fell victim to the robbers.
The robbery took place on a bus named Amri Travels, operated by Unique Road Royals (registration number: Mymensingh-B-11-0069) early on Tuesday, between Gazipur’s Chandra and Tangail’s Mirzapur.
Reports on social media claim that two female passengers were raped during the incident. However, the affected passengers said that when the robbed bus reached the Baraigram police station in Natore, two female passengers complained to the police about sexual harassment.
However, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Baraigram police station said no one informed him about any sexual assault or rape. No case has been filed yet.
Bus passengers Sohag Hossain, Omar Ali, Majnu Akand, 73, and their business partner Abu Hanif remained at Baraigram police station until Thursday afternoon after the bus was stopped.
They wanted to file a case, but the police said that since the crime scene was in Mirzapur police station’s jurisdiction, the case must be filed there.
Around 5pm on Thursday, Omar Ali told the Bangla daily Prothom Alo that the superintendent of police in Natore had already recorded their statements. He also heard that officers from Mirzapur police station were on their way to Baraigram.
Regarding the incident, Mirzapur police station OC Mosharraf Hossain said: "People are saying this happened in Mirzapur. We are trying to determine the actual details of the incident."
Passengers reported that the bus, carrying around 40 people, left Gabtoli, Dhaka, for Rajshahi at 11pm on Monday.
The robbery began at 12:35am. For three hours, the robbers looted the passengers and then dropped them off at the same location at 3:52am. When the passengers looked around, they found themselves near a petrol pump in Mirzapur police station’s jurisdiction.
At that time, the bus driver, his assistant, and the supervisor made excuses for not continuing the journey. However, under passenger pressure, they finally resumed the journey. Around 11am to 11:30am on Tuesday, the bus was forced into Baraigram police station by the passengers.
How the robbery happened
Sohag Hossain described the saying that three robbers initially boarded the bus at Gabtoli and sat in the back. A little later, after talking with the bus staff, they allowed five more robbers to board. One of the robbers then took control of the steering wheel.
The robbers stabbed a passenger, causing his white shirt to soak in blood. The injured passenger handed over all his money and belongings without resistance. Another passenger suffered a deep cut on his arm from a knife. In fear, all passengers handed over whatever they had.
According to Sohag Ali, the robbers searched each passenger five to seven times. One robber threw Sohag into the aisle and stood on his chest. Meanwhile, another robber held a knife to Omar Ali’s throat and took Tk20,000 from him. Omar Ali attempted to hide a bundle of Tk1 lakh, but the robbers eventually found it during a second search. The robbers did not leave any passenger's mobile phone. Sohag’s phone was overlooked only because it had fallen under a seat.
Another passenger, Majnu Akand from Moukhera village in Baraigram, lost Tk46,000 to the robbers. He said: “The robbers completely humiliated the women on the bus. They screamed in such distress that we felt something terrible was happening to them.”
The robbers kept the bus moving around the area for three hours, looting cash, gold jewellery, and valuables from all the passengers. After completing the robbery, they left the bus. Then, the bus staff started making excuses, claiming they had no fuel or money and could not continue. The passengers refused to get off and declared that if they had to die, they would die on the bus. Only then did the bus staff resume the journey.
Majnu Akand pointed out: “The bus staff claimed that the robbers took their money too. But at the toll plaza (Jamuna Bridge), they still managed to pay the toll and buy food. Where did they get the money?”
Passengers believe that the bus staff were involved in the robbery.
Allegations of sexual harassment
Omar Ali said: “Two female passengers told us multiple times that the robbers sexually harassed them. They also reported it to Baraigram police’s second officer, SI Shariful Islam.”
Regarding this, SI Shariful Islam said that two female passengers mentioned that their jewellery was forcibly removed. The way it was done, he admitted, could be considered sexual harassment.
One female passenger from Charghat was also on the bus. She was returning home from her daughter’s house in Dhaka. She told over the phone that the robbers took Tk7,500, gold bangles, and a chain from her.
She said that after the robbery, the bus was first taken to Mirzapur police station. However, the police there refused to listen to them, saying they could not act until the OC arrived at 9am. Feeling unsafe, the passengers then decided to go to Baraigram instead.
She further said: “Women who took longer to remove their jewellery were treated roughly and sexually harassed.”
Mirzapur police station OC Mosharraf Hossain said that he heard some people had come to the station early in the morning. The police asked them to sit and talk, but they left angrily. He denied the claim that the police refused to listen. He said that by 10am the next day, they would know the exact location and details of the incident.
Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Md Atiquzzaman was on duty at Mirzapur police station that night.
He said: “A few people came in the early morning and wanted to talk. We asked them to sit, but they left instead.”
Driver and bus staff released on bail
The driver, supervisor, and assistant of the robbed bus were released on bail. Though they received bail on Wednesday evening, the information became public on Thursday afternoon.
According to the Natore’s Baraigram Magistrate Court, Baraigram police sent the bus’s driver, Babul Islam, 35, his assistant, Suman Islam, 35, and supervisor, Mahbub Alam, 38, to court on Wednesday afternoon.
The court granted them bail in the evening after a hearing.
Court Inspector Mostafa Kamal said that since the case was filed under Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and there was no concrete charge against them, the court granted bail.
Baraigram police station OC Sirajul Islam said that passengers verbally informed them about the robbery.
Many passengers got off the bus along the way. Two female passengers did come forward—one from Lalpur, Natore, and another from Puthia, Rajshahi—but they did not mention any sexual assault.
Expressing surprise, he said: “Who spread the news of rape? This is an ethical issue that must be handled responsibly.”
On Thursday night, Mirzapur police station SI Jewel Mia was in Baraigram to interrogate the victims.
Around 10pm, he said no case had been recorded yet and that many details were still needed before filing a case.