7 highwaymen arrested in Rajshahi, Syedpur

Our Staff Correspondent reported from Rajshahi that police arrested six listed highwaymen from the city.

They are Abdul Hakim of Nandigram upazila; Mintu of Dhupchachia upazila in Bogra; Tasikul Islam of Chapainawabganj; Mizanur Rahman of Naogaon; and Mithu and Shyamol of Rajshahi.

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They were on the run since Saturday as a police team led by Ohidul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kahalu thana in Bogra chased them from Bogra.

Assisted by Boalia police in Rajshahi, the team raided a house at Bhadra residential area in Rajshahi city and arrested them Monday morning. The house owner is absconding.

However, the alleged gang leader --Atikul Islam Sona --escaped.

The arrested are accused in two cases filed with Kahalu and Dhupchachia thanas, police said.

Police seized a truck used by them and recovered six videocassettes of vulgar films from it.

Police said the dacoits used the house in the city for committing highway robberies at night.

Our Nilphamari Correspondent reported that villagers at Neamatpur in Syedpur upazila in Nilphamari district caught a member of a gang of highway robbers after they committed a dacoity in a Panchagar-bound night coach from Dhaka.

Five dacoits had boarded the night coach (No. Metro-BA-11-0587) of Shuvo Basundhara in the guise of passengers.

As the bus reached Taragang on Monday early morning, one of the dacoits took control of the bus by pointing a firearm at the driver and the rest swooped on the passengers.

They beat passengers and snatched about Tk three lakh in cash, valuables and gold ornaments. One passenger-- Mozammel Haque--- hailing from Boda upazila in Panchagarh, was stabbed as he resisted.

As dawn cracked, they stopped the bus near the BSIC (Bangladesh Small Industries Corporation) at Neamatpur and got down.

As the passengers raised a hue and cry and chased the dacoits, villagers joined them. After chasing about two kilometres, they caught one of the dacoits named Liaqat alias Quayum. Others escaped.

He was handed over to police, who said the gang was from Jessore.

The driver of the coach, Humaium Kabir, lodged a case with Syedpur thana. Police could neither arrest any one of the rest dacoits not recover the looted goods till yesterday.