Five, including law enforcing officers, arrested over Tk 10.81mn robbery, says police

Authorites have recovered Tk 3.21 million within four days of the incident, with efforts underway to retrieve the rest

Police have arrested five individuals, including a former army sergeant and a dismissed police constable, in connection with the robbery of Tk 10.81 million from a “Nagad” distributor in Dhaka’s Uttara.

Within four days of the incident, police say they have recovered Tk 3.21 million. They are continuing efforts to retrieve the remaining money and arrest the others involved.

The arrested are: Md Hasan, 35, Golam Mostafa alias Shahin, 50, Sheikh Jalal Uddin alias Robiul, 43, Imdadul Sharif, 28, and Saiful Islam alias Shipon, 27.

Shahin, the alleged ringleader, is a former police constable previously arrested in multiple arms-related cases. Jalal Uddin is a retired army sergeant, who would falsely introduce himself as a captain.

At a press conference on Thursday, DMP Uttara Division Deputy Commissioner Muhidul Islam said while several Nagad staff were questioned, there is no direct evidence linking any insider to the robbery.

“We are not ruling out the possibility, but so far, there isn't any valid evidence,” he said.

On Jun 14, four Nagad employees were transporting the money from distributor Abdul Khalek Nayan’s Uttara residence to the company office nearby, when a microbus blocked their motorbikes. Armed men wearing black vests labelled “RAB” and covering their faces forced three of the employees to hand over the cash and later dumped them in Uttara’s Sector 17.

Following a complaint, police arrested driver Hasan from Khilgaon, recovering Tk 8,500 and a fake nameplate. Although he confessed to stealing Tk 50,000, he spent Tk 41,500 before police could find him.

The microbus was later seized from Madartek.

Police also arrested Shahin from Uttara with Tk 1.33 million, Imdadul from Adabor with Tk 0.8 million, and Jalal from Sabujbagh with Tk 63,000.

Jalal, introducing himself as “captain Jalal”, admitted to depositing Tk 1.2 million into his bank account after the robbery.

Shipon was arrested from the Airport Railway Station with fake police and RAB IDs, a baton, signal light, military-themed wallet, cheque books, and a mobile phone.

A Dhaka court has granted a six-day remand for all five arrestees, following a 10-day remand request by the investigating officer, SI Sumon Mia of Uttara West Police.