10 more arrested over Ctg ISP office attack; ambulance used in assault seized

Law enforcement agencies have arrested 10 more people, including alleged key organiser Michael Rohen Mia and an ambulance driver, in connection with the attack, vandalism and looting at the office of internet service provider Digital Dot Net (DDN) in Chattogram's Chawkbazar area.

Police have also seized an ambulance allegedly used to transport the attackers during the incident.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-7 arrested nine suspects in separate drives conducted between yesterday (18 July) and 6:30am today (19 July) and also recovered four locally made weapons, including a samurai sword allegedly used in the attack, Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Hafizur Rahman said at a press briefing at the force's Chattogram office.

According to RAB, a person identifying himself as "David Emon" sent a WhatsApp message to DDN owner Adil Bin Mamun on 11 July, demanding Tk2 crore as a one-time payment and Tk10 lakh in monthly extortion payments.

After the demand was refused, a group of 30 to 40 armed individuals allegedly attacked the DDN office on the afternoon of 13 July.

The attackers vandalised office furniture, computers, servers, laptops and other equipment, according to the victim businessman.

Lt Col Hafizur said the incident drew widespread attention, prompting senior police officials and the Home Ministry to take the matter seriously. Subsequently, RAB, the Detective Branch of Chattogram Metropolitan Police and other law enforcement agencies launched coordinated drives.

"Six people were arrested in a police drive and two others in a RAB drive on 14 July. Later, from yesterday afternoon until around 6:30am today, nine more people were arrested from different areas of the city," he said.

RAB claims Michael Rohen Mia was one of the three organisers of the attack.

Investigators said Michael, Sunny and Raju allegedly gathered individuals from Chawkbazar, Bakalia, Bahaddarhat, Raozan and other areas on the instructions of David Emon to carry out the attack.

The attackers were divided into several groups before the incident, Hafizur said. One group monitored the movement of law enforcement personnel nearby, while another waited on the ground floor of the building disguised as ordinary visitors. A main group of around 20 people later entered the office and carried out the vandalism and alleged looting.

He said five suspects were identified through CCTV footage analysis, while others were arrested based on information obtained during interrogation.

Following Michael's arrest, RAB recovered a video from his mobile phone in which he was allegedly seen briefing a group of people on the morning of the attack. Two individuals seen in the video have also been arrested, Hafizur added.

According to RAB, the arrestees told investigators that the extortion demand had been made two to three days before the attack. When the demand was not met, the attack was allegedly carried out in a planned manner.

When asked about the arrest of David Emon, the RAB-7 commanding officer said, "The operation is ongoing. It is not possible to give a specific time frame for the sake of the arrest operation."

Meanwhile, Chawkbazar police seized an ambulance allegedly used to transport the attackers as part of the ongoing investigation. The vehicle's driver, Md Mohiuddin, 31, was arrested and sent to court, according to a press release issued by Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) this afternoon.

Police said efforts are continuing to identify and arrest other individuals involved in the attack.