Staff Reporter
Police started intensive investigation into the bank robbery incident at Sonali Bank [SB] Kishoreganj branch and detained 17 persons, including branch manager Humayan Kabir Bhuiyan and a joint custodian of vault keys for interrogation.
The detained persons include three women-a Saudi expatriate’s wife and her two daughters who stay in the adjacent house from where the robbers had dug the tunnel, besides, two local businessmen and 12 bank employees. But police did not disclose their identities for the sake of investigation in connection with the burglary.
When contacted, Officer-in-Charge of Kishoreganj Model Police station Abdul Malek told The New Nation yesterday night: ” We have picked up 17 persons for interrogation. A few local people have also been taken to the police station to get primary information. But none of them have been shown arrest.”
“Yes, three women have been brought to police station. We are quizzing them for getting any clue. We have also started operation to hunt down the robbers,” he added.
In an incident of filmy-style burglary, the robbers tunneled into the vault of Sonali Bank Kishoreganj branch at Isa Khan Road in Rathkhola area in the district town and took away about Tk 16.40 crore anytime between Friday and Sunday morning. The incident came to light on Sunday afternoon when bank employees went to the vault room for money.
On the following night, DGM of Sonali Bank Sheikh Amanullah filed a case with Kishoreganj Model Police station accusing some unidentified people with the robbery.
Meanwhile, members of investigation teams of police and other agencies have collected different evidence from the spot yesterday. Criminal Investigation Department [CID] recovered two masks and caps from the vault room and took those for DNA test.
Besides, the cell phone numbers of some Sonali Bank officials posted in Kishoreganj have been brought under round-the-clock tracking to get any vital clue while some other officials’ movement have been kept under close surveillance.
Managing Director of Sonali Bank Pradip Kumar Datta, Deputy Inspector General of Police [Dhaka Range] SM Mahfuzul Haque Nuruzzaman and senior officials of different security agencies including RAB visited the spot yesterday.
Three separate inquiry committees have been formed yesterday to investigate the robbery. Of them, a three-member inquiry committee of Sonali Bank headed by General Manager [Head Office] Iqbal Hasan visited the spot yesterday noon.
“This is the first incident of bank robbery through cutting underground tunnel. Our first task is to detect the criminals fast and bring them under law. Different teams of intelligence agencies along with CID personnel are coordinating the probe here… We will hunt down the robbers soon,” said DIG Nuruzzaman.
Police sources said the robbers took away about Tk 16.40 crore which was kept on a table inside the vault. But they could not break the iron safe and steel almirahs in the vault where over Tk 100 crore were locked up.
“We have formed probe committees to find out the reason why a big amount of money [Tk 16.40 crore] had been kept on a table inside the vault room,” expressing optimism to catch the culprits, Sonali Bank MD Pradip Kumar Datta said.
Apart from it, the bank authority has appointed AKM Fazlul Haque as new manager of Kishoreganj branch. “The office work and money transaction of the branch were suspended till 12:30pm yesterday due to manpower shortage. Later, officials from other branches joined there to fill up the gaps,” Haque said.
Meanwhile, eight policemen who were on duty at the bank branch during the time of the burglary were suspended on charge of neglecting duty. At present, the members of different law enforcing agencies have kept the bank cordoned.
