Tuesday’s bank robbery in Ashulia, which left eight people dead, might have been perpetrated by men involved with Ansarullah Bangla Team and Islami Chatra Shibir, investigators have said.
The link between the heist and the involvement of the Islamist organisations became apparent following the interrogation of two suspected robbers – Borhan Mridha, 35, and Saiful Islam, 25.
Among the arrestees, Borhan had links to the Ansarullah Bangla Team as well as being in good terms with the outfit’s chief Jashimuddin Rahmani, said a senior official of the district police who is involved in the probe process.
Seeking anonymity, the official also told the Dhaka Tribune that Borhan is also suspected to have connections with a militant who was behind the Burdwan blast in India.
Borhan, who came from a low-income family and started his career as a bus helper, had a rapid rise to riches since 2008 to become the owner of several covered vans. The police found a passport in Borhan’s Gazipur residence and were now “trying to find out why he made a passport as he might have links to the militant group responsible for the West Bengal blast,” said the police official.
Since Borhan’s arrest on Tuesday, his family members have reportedly been on the run.
Meanwhile, Saiful, the other detainee, has reportedly been trying to mislead the investigators by repeatedly changing his background story and statement.
The investigation official told the Dhaka Tribune that Saiful initially claimed to hail from Munshiganj, but later claimed to be from Joypurhat; however, the police found that both his claimed addresses were false.
The detainees seemed to be trained at dealing with police interrogation, the police official said, adding that both of them were very careful in disclosing information while refusing to speak any word to the police whenever they were placed in the same room together.
On Tuesday afternoon, a band of armed robbers stormed into a Kathgora Bazar branch of Bangladesh Commerce Bank in Ashulia, and killed seven people, including its manager, security official and a businessman, and looting money before shooting and bombing their way out.
Borhan was caught by locals at scene of the robbery, while others later managed to get hold of two more culprits; one of them – Asif – was beaten to death while the other – Saiful – was handed over to police.
Asked about the Ashulia bank heist, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said law enforcers have found that members of militant outfits and Shibir activists were behind the robbery.
“We have found evidence and documents of militancy and Shibir activities, and we are now trying to trace their roots,” he said.
The bank robbery was proof that there was a group of people trying to support militancy and reorganise militant outfits, the state minister said.
On the other hand, sources said the CCTV cameras inside the bank were on during the robbery, but could not record anything as the battery of the recording unit had been dead since March 18.
Four CCTV cameras that were installed inside the premises of the bank’s Kathgora Bazar branch were operated with the technical support from a private firm named Service Home for the last one year.
Meanwhile, former Chhatra League leader Shahabuddin Mollah Palash, who was killed while trying to stop the bank robbers, was laid to eternal rest at his village home at Lakkhandia of Jhenaidah yesterday.
