Staff Reporter :At least eight suspected robbers were lynched and four others injured seriously by a mob at Araihazar upazila in Narayanganj district on early Thursday. “Eight robbers were killed and four other received serious wounds in a mass beating when they tried to commit robbery at a rice wholesale shop at Purinda Bazar of Araihazar Upazila,” Khandakar Mahid Uddin, Superintendent of Police of Narayanganj told The New Nation on Thursday.Out of eight, five deceased were identified as Rajib alias Rony, 30, of Noakhali and Mohammad Rubel, 25, Jewel Ahmed, 35, Mohammad Titu, 30, and Shawkat Hossain, 30 of Mymensingh. The identity of three other deceased could not be known yet.The Police Super said critically injured three robbers are now under treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).The injured suspected robbers have been identified as Manik, son of Latif, hailing from Raipur village in Trishal upazila, Lokman, son of Osman Bepari, hailing from Kalibari village under Chandpur thana, and Sajib Miah, son of Sana Miah, hailing from Kotwali Balla village in Mymensingh district. “One robber is now under police custody,” Mahid Uddin said, adding that the bodies were sent to the Narayanganj General Hospital morgue for autopsy. “They are professional robbers. Police seized the truck half loaded with rice,” he added. According to shop owners, villagers and police, a gang of robbers numbering 25-30 riding a truck (Dhaka Metro Ta-4311) entered the Purinda Bazar under Satgram Union at about 4.30 am and stormed a rice shop owned by Abdul Gafur. “Later the robbers tied hands and legs of two night guards-Mohammad Mokbul Zaman and Motaleb Ali — of the market and started loading rice on the truck from the wholesale shop at gunpoint,” a devotee who was passing by the area for offering Fazr prayers, told journalists.The villagers and shop owners said as the robbers were busy loading rice, one guard Mokbul Hossain managed to free himself and rushed to the mosque and informed the devotees about the robbery.As soon as the news of robbery spread one devotee made an announcement of the robbery through a mosque loudspeaker, they added.Hearing the announcement from the mosque, apart from the devotees and shop owners, villagers also rushed to the spot and chased the robbers and caught 12 of them red-handed. Later, they gave them a tremendous thrashing, leaving eight dead on the spot and critically injuring four others, they said.Talking to journalists, Mokbul Zaman, one of the two security guards, said the gang of robbers introduced themselves as rice trader and they came to the bazar with rice for Bhai Bhai Store. “As soon as the robbers entered the bazar, they tied our hands and legs and held us hostage at gun-point,” the security guard said, adding that he, however, managed to flee and informed Bachchu Mia, general secretary of the bazar committee, and devotees of the nearby mosque, of the matter.He said the information about the robbery was announced immediately through the mike of the mosque. “Villagers, shop owners of the market and devotees encircled the robbers and caught 12 of the gang,” the police superintendent said, adding on information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies of the suspected robbers. “We recovered three bodies while fire brigade personnel recovered four more bodies from a nearby pond while four others rescued in critical condition and sent to Araihazar Thana Health Complex for treatment where one succumbed to his injuries,” Inspector (Investigation) Ariful Huq of Araihazar Police Station said. Following deterioration of the condition, three of them were shifted to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital from local health complex. “We suspect that some of the robbers jumped to a nearby pond to escape the mass beating. Filing of a case to this end is underway in this connection,” the OC said.Police seized the truck half loaded with rice, he said.
