Sagar Biswas :
Mystery shrouds the sensational dacoity at Kathgora Bazar branch of Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited in Savar as police could not make any headway to find a vital clue, though three days have already been elapsed in the meantime.
Although the police claimed that the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhtra Shibir are involved in the dacoity, the State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Thursday categorically said that the members of militant outfit like Ansarullah Bangla Team [ABT] might be linked with the incident.
“We have made satisfactory achievements and already the police have arrested four persons on suspicion of involvement in the crime. So far I believe the banned militant outfit ABT is linked with the dacoity. We will resolve the mystery soon,” Asaduzzaman Khan told The New Nation. Sources said, the investigators are trying to find out why the close-circuit cameras remained switched-off during the time of dacoity? Whereas, there were video footage in the CC cameras before and after the dacoity! ‘It is really suspicious’, said an investigator.
Besides, a security guard Sohel Rahman left the bank just 10 to 15 minutes before the dacoity without informing anyone. He was later arrested. The investigators are now trying to unearth why he had left the bank so hurriedly.
In the meantime, the police have raided a house in Chandra of Kaliakoir upazila in Gazipur, which the robbers rented for staying for the last few days. Police also recovered some evidences from there, sources added. Deputy Inspector General [DIG] of Police of Dhaka Range SM Mahfuzul Hoque Nuruzzaman said that the investigators have got some evidences about the linkage of a banned militant outfit with the dacoity.
“So far we think, they [dacoits] tried to collect fund for their militant outfit and at the same time they wanted to expose their might to the public. The arms and ammunition, including grenades, used in the dacoity were locally made. Usually, the militant operatives use these grenades,” the DIG said.
He further said, “Seven to eight persons were in the front row. But there must be several others behind the scene to patronize them. The arrested dacoits — Borhan Mizan, hailed from Kashiani thana in Gopalganj and Saiful Islam, hailed from Joypurhat – are now divulging important information. It is a big question, why they started killing instead of going to vault for taking money after getting keys?”
Khandaker Golam Farooq, Additional DIG [Dhaka Range], on Thursday said, “As per the preliminary information that we have extracted from the arrestees, we are quite sure the dacoits are linked with the militant outfit. However, everything will be clear after completion of investigation. “
“We have seized jihadi books from a dacoit’s house. And strangely, the arrested Saiful who at first told us that he was illiterate, but he could recite from the holy Quran very perfectly, like a literate religious scholar,” the Additional DIG said.
The investigation officials of Rapid Action Battalion [RAB], Detective Branch [DB], CID and other intelligence agencies believe that there is a link between militant outfit and the dacoity.
The dacoits were 9-10 in number; age range between 25 and 30 years; all were wearing jeans pants and had rucksack on the back. They fled away divided in two to three groups through south side road and beside the mosque, the officials said.
“We [police] preliminary have got enough information who were behind the dacoity. Now, we are verifying whether there was anyone’s provocation. The police have already conducted raids at different areas, including Kathgora, Durgapur, Dholpur, Kandail, Aragoan, Kuturia, Pukurpar, Rangamati and Savar, to catch the culprits,” the SP said.
Meanwhile, the locals said it was a pre-planned heist which was not possible without the participation of local terrorists and a section of bank officials. The dacoits committed the crime with an intention to loot cash and other valuables, but they failed to reach the vault due to rush of local people following an alert through the loudspeaker of the adjacent mosque, they said.
At least eight persons, including the branch manager, were killed and 25 others injured in a broad daylight dacoity at Khathgara Bazar branch of Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited at Ashulia in Savar on Tuesday.
