It seems unbelievable how members of a theft gang dismantle not a motorbike, not even a car, but an entire bus within hours. However, the theft gang makes this impossible thing possible. After stealing the bus, they first take it to a colluding workshop. There, the mechanic dismantles the bus into pieces within just two to three hours. Then the machinery is sold to scrap shops, while other parts of the body are sold to metal factories in Narayanganj to turn them into usable iron, say DB sources.
The detective branch (DB) of Police disclosed this information after claiming to have arrested five members of a bus-stealing gang. This group has stolen at least 15 buses or minibuses from different areas of Dhaka in the last seven months. Theft gang leader Ripon and four others were produced before a Dhaka court, which granted a one-day remand for interrogation. After the remand period ended, the arrestees were sent to jail on Friday.
Media reports yesterday said that Ripon, once a bus helper became a driver. Later, he owned 15-16 lagoons. From that he used to earn about Tk 20,000 daily. But he spent all of this on gambling. And this greed led him to lose everything.
Reportedly, the theft gang used to get only Tk 2 to 3 lakh by selling a new bus, the market prices of which range from Tk 6 to 8 lakh. For dismantling vehicles, gang leader Ripon used to pay the workshop owner Tk 30,000 to 40,000. He sells machinery, which has a market price of Tk 70,000 to 80,000, to scrap shops for Tk 20,000 to 30,000.
According to detectives, for stealing a bus, the theft gang used to target entry points to Dhaka, like Demra, Shanir Akhra and Jatrabari, where drivers park buses at night after ending all trips. As in the early morning when everyone is fast asleep, the bus theft gang becomes rampant. They stole the bus and took it to a secret place. The appearance of the stolen bus changes as the morning light breaks out. Parts of the bus including the engine, glass and seats were removed. The vehicle’s identifying marks are also removed. In this way the whole bus disappeared.
Law enforcement sources say most of the buses do not have fitness. There are also glitches in registration. Thus the owners do not feel comfortable approaching the law enforcers. They keep searching on their own. By doing this, this cycle passes a lot of time. Through bringing all automobile vehicles, including buses, under a tracking system the theft incidents can be reduced to a great extent.
