Three people were injured in separate mugging incidents in the city yesterday, while two snatchers were arrested during an attempted mugging of a businessman.
In Tantibazar, a group of miscreants blasted crude bombs and shot two men while snatching Tk10 lakh from them.
Sumon Chandra Dash, 25, and Rakib, 32 – both employees of Baitul Mukarram Market’s Alok Jewellers – were carrying the cash while on their way to a jewellery maker at Prashanna Poddar Lane, when the muggers, on motorcycles, surrounded them and blasted eight to ten crude bombs.
As the two men tried to run away, the muggers opened fire and injured them before snatching away the money. Sumon and Rakib were later admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital with bullet injuries to their abdomen and legs.
Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Kotowali police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that police recovered five unexploded crude bombs from the scene, and were looking for the muggers to recover the looted money.
Nikhil Chandra Dash, owner of the jewellery shop, said Sumon and Rakib were on their way to order some new ornaments with the cash money when they were attacked.
In a separate incident, an employee of a paper shop was stabbed at Palashi, as muggers snatched away over Tk2 lakh from his possession.
Shafik, a staff of AZ Enterprise paper shop, had withdrawn Tk207,000 from Al-Arafah Islami Bank of Elephant Road Branch, said his employer
Abu Yousuf.
As Shafik was returning to the shop, the muggers stopped the rickshaw he was on near Majed Sardar Lane in Palashi and stabbed him to snatch the money. Shafik – who remains in critical condition – is now undergoing treatment at the DMCH with stab wounds to his hands and other body parts.
Ahmed Sharif, sub-inspector of Chawkbazar police station, said investigation was going on to recover the money and apprehend the culprits.
Meanwhile, in Gulistan, the police arrested two snatchers – Robin, 26, and Jewel Khan, 25 – with the help of local people, as the muggers tried to take away Tk4 lakh from a businessman, said Sultana Begum, sub-inspector of Paltan police station.
According to statistics from the DMCH registrar’s office, 61 victims of mugging received treatment at the hospital in January this year, while the figure jumped to 97 the following month. Over 30 victims of mugging have sought medical attention at the hospital during the first week of the month, the statistics showed.
Among these, 16 victims received bullet injuries in January, while the figure was at 23 in February. Of the injured, some filed complaints with the police, but many kept mum to avoid harassment.
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective Branch of the police, said they were aware about such kind of crimes and had arrested a number of criminals. Intelligence officials remain deployed at key places in the capital to track the criminals, he added.
