Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Tuesday recovered the looted Tk16.19 crores from the possession of two arrestees in connection with the Kishoreganj Sonali Bank burglary Habib Rahman alias Sohel Rana and Idris Mia were arrested with the looted money from Tonoy Vila, in the capital’s Shyampur Balurmath area on Tuesday afternoon after two days of the burglary. Col. Ziaul Ahsan, Additional Director General (operation) of RAB, said at a press conference at headquarte of the elite force RAB at Utarra. A team of RAB-10 arrested Sohel, the key person behind the burglary that was committed digging a tunnel between an adjacent residential building and the vault of the bank, he said. RAB has recovered all Tk.16.19 crores from their possession, Col Ziaul Ahsan said. Two bank officials discovered the heist on Sunday afternoon when they entered the second cell of the bank’s vault to get money for transactions.The tunnel was dug to the vault from a nearby building only 20 yards away from the bank on Isa Khan Road at Rathkhola. A narrow alley separates the bank and the building. The tin-roofed house may have been rented out solely for the burglary purpose, it is suspected. A woman, along with two of her daughters, stays in the adjacent room of that house. Her husband lives in Saudi Arabia. During police interrogation, she said she was not aware of the heist or someone tunnelling through their premises.The two-room house was given to one Sohel two years ago, but it bore no vestiges of daily living. Instead, it is full with earth removed to make the tunnel between the bank and the residential building. Eight policemen who were on duty at the Sonali Bank were temporarily suspended for dereliction of duty. They were deployed in the barrack located in the basement of the branch to maintain the security of the vault. A total of 16 people including, Branch Manager Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan of Sonali Bank branch in Kishoreganj where the robbery took place Saturday, were quizzed Monday while the owner of the house was detained by police for interrogation. Deputy General Manager of the Sonali Bank’s branch, Sheikh Amanullah filed a case with Kishoreganj Model Police Station on Sunday night accusing unnamed persons for the heist. The authorities of Bangladesh Bank and Sonali Bank formed separate investigation committees to investigate into the incident.
