Masked men ransack Hazaribagh courier warehouse in 18mins; 3 arrested
The attackers allegedly looted parcels, laptops and CCTV equipment, with the company claiming they demanded rent be paid to a ‘top criminal’ instead of the landowner.
Police have arrested three people over an attack on an AJR Courier Service warehouse in the capital's Hazaribagh, where at least 45 helmeted and masked men arrived on 23 motorbikes and ransacked the premises in just 18 minutes yesterday (21 October).
Hazaribagh Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mosharraf Hossain confirmed the matter today (22 October), saying a case had been filed against 70-80 unidentified people in connection with the attack.
He also said the company filed the case last night.
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Police later arrested three people in raids in Hazaribagh, he said, adding that investigators were reviewing CCTV footage and using technology to identify others involved.
Yesterday, the attack took place around 6:45pm at the warehouse on Mendi Dental Road, behind Shikder Medical College in Hazaribagh.
CCTV footage shows the masked men spent only 18 minutes at the warehouse, vandalising the premises and looting parcels, equipment and laptops.
According to company officials, the attackers vandalised the warehouse and office and looted customers' parcels, valuable equipment, office furniture and several laptops. They also allegedly took CCTV cameras and the digital video recorder (DVR) used to store surveillance footage.
AJR Courier officials said the attack stemmed from a dispute over land rent. They said the company rented the land from Sikder Group around two years ago under a contract and had been paying rent as agreed.
The company alleges that the attackers demanded future rent be paid to Sanzidul Islam Emon -- whom company officials described as a top criminal -- instead of Sikder Group, and threatened to shut down its operations if it refused.
However, The Business Standard could not verify these allegations independently.
Emon was not named in the case, police said.
According to the company officials, around 400 vehicles carry goods from the warehouse to different parts of the country every day. The attack disrupted transport and supply operations.
The case was filed by the company's human resources and administration department.
