<i>Muggers active in the guise of Rab, DB ?</i>
Four alleged muggers arrested on charge of snatching a trader in the guise of DB personnel.Photo: STAR
At least 10 gangs of muggers are active in the port city and its adjacent areas in the guise of members of Detective Branch (DB) and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab). Police detected four of such gangs and arrested five gang leaders but the rest are hiding, creating a sense of insecurity among the city dwellers ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, sources in Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) said. The gangs are Hakim-Police group, Saiful-Sumon group, Arif Shahabuddin group, Rubel Jaladas-Bakkar group, Liton Barua-Khokan-led Patiya group, Shibir Ripon-Rubel group, Dyl Sumon-Babul group, Jalal Jaku group, Yunus-Ali group and Apel Mintu-Kala Faruk group. The gang members call those providing them with information about the prospective target as 'Bedi' and the target as 'Garu' (cow). Karim of Asadganj, Saiful of Saraipara, Rahim of Patiya, Milon of Raozan, Toyub of Khatunganj and Dulal of CDA Cattle Market were among such “Bedi” (informants), they said. The gangs mainly try to loot the cheque (hundi)-money to avoid arrest since most of the bearers don't file case. The muggers wait on microbus for the target. As the target comes nearer they come down with a wireless set and pick him up introducing themselves as the DB or Rab men. They blindfold and handcuff the victim. Later, they take away the money threatening him of arrest for carrying hundi-money before dropping him at a solitary spot. The microbuses used for committing the crime are supplied by their cohorts Driver Jasim of Laldighi, Apel Mintu's brothers-in-law Emon, Sumon and Javed of Halishahar and Sumon of Pahartali, said the sources. Police on Friday arrested four members of such a gang, including the top informer Fazlul Karim, 36, in connection with mugging of Tk 4.20 lakh from a trader in the guise of DB men from in front of Bangladesh Bank under Kotwali Police Station on the night of July 26. Other arrestees were Amin Mohammad Saifuddin alias MES College Saiful, 23, and Ali Asgar alias Sumon, 25, driver of the microbus, and their cohort Mohammad Javed, 23. Saiful told The Daily Star at the Kotwali Police Station on Saturday that they are to give 40 percent of the booty to the informer Karim and they share the rest money. He said Karim provided them with handcuffs and a wireless set for the mugging. Karim, however, said he has relations with different gangs of muggers but he never takes part in the crime. Sub-Inspector Sadip Kumar Das said most of the arrested muggers mentioned the name of Karim as informer and kingpin of such crimes but he (Karim) never took part in the crime directly. Police on August 9 arrested three muggers with Tk 45,000 of looted money and seized a microbus in connection with mugging of Tk 11 lakh of an automobile sales centre on August 03 in the guise of Rab men. On the other hand, a team of DB led by DB Assistant Commissioner (AC) Hasan Chowdhury arrested Police Hakim, who leads most of such crimes, on August 5 from city's Chhotoiple area on charge of mugging Tk 5.10 lakh from a collage teacher from in front of Islamia College in the city's Madarbari area on July 29. Hakim was dismissed from the police department for misconduct back in 2007 and since then he had been mugging in the guise of police and Rab carrying a handcuff with him, said Hasan. “We have spread our detective net to nab such groups ahead of the Eid-ul Fitr,” he said, adding that the traders and individuals were requested to take police escort for transporting money. In this regard, CMP Deputy Commissioner (North) Banaj Kumar Majumder told The Daily Star that the groups who loot money in the guise of Rab and police tarnish images of the law enforcers. He said they targeted Karim one and a-half years back, but could not arrest him due to lack of proper evidence.
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