Housewife ‘plans robbery’ in same building, 4 arrested

Police say she hired robbers to steal Tk 2 million from a flat in the same building

A housewife living in the same apartment building has masterminded a robbery at a flat in Kamrangirchar by providing information about the occupants and the cash kept inside, police say.

On Wednesday, Lalbagh Division Deputy Commissioner Talebur Rahman outlined the details of the case after the arrests of four suspects the previous night.

The arrestees are Jiasmin, also known as Jesmin, 37, Sajib Alam, 29, Ripon Mia, 42, and Faruk Khan, 50.

At a press briefing organised by the DMP Media Centre, Talebur said the robbery took place on Jul 18 at a flat on the fifth floor of a 10-storey building in Mahdinagar, adjacent to Roxy Lane in Kamrangirchar.

The flat was occupied by the widow of a former Dhaka University employee, along with her three daughters and a son.

Talebur said the family had been living in the flat under a mortgage arrangement. The former university employee had died some time ago, leaving around Tk 2 million in pension savings, which the family kept at home.

"There were frequent disputes among the siblings over the money. Jesmin, the wife of the owner of a seventh-floor flat, was aware of the matter and had even mediated those disputes," he said.

According to the deputy commissioner, Jesmin, whose husband works as a driver, used her prior acquaintance with a robbery gang to pass on the information and help plan the crime.

Following the plan, five robbers entered the flat, tied up the occupants, and fled with about Tk 2 million in cash and 34.9g of gold ornaments.

"After reviewing CCTV footage, investigators identified several members of the gang and arrested three of them in a single night. During interrogation, it emerged that the robbery had been planned by Jesmin," Talebur said.

He said efforts were under way to arrest the remaining suspects involved in the robbery.