Mugger snatches BNP leader's phone mid-song as carpool karaoke goes wrong at Karwan Bazar

Dhaka got an unexpected mashup last night (17 August) when a BNP leader's Facebook Live turned from "sing-along session" to "snatch-and-run special."

Ashad Khokan was mid-verse in a Bangla song -- titled "Jeona Chole Bondhu" by Shawkat featuring Ayub Bachchu -- with his co-passenger when his phone was dramatically snatched through the car window at the Karwan Bazar intersection -- live on camera.

Ashad is the publicity secretary of the BNP's Bhola municipality unit, according to his Facebook profile.

The video, which has since gone viral, shows him happily crooning and panning his camera outside, before an unseen hand abruptly provides the evening's "remix." The screen blurred, then went black, the music cut short, and Dhaka got its latest viral content.

The incident occurred at 11:23pm, according to Ashad's live broadcast that started at 11:21pm. The start of the video showed the car was moving from Banglamotor toward Farmgate.

The unknown mugger was not seen in the video, which continued for a little over one more minute inside what one can presume to be the pocket of the mugger.

The Karwan Bazar intersection is notoriously known for such mobile phone snatchings.

As the video went viral, netizens quickly weighed in, with comments that Ashad should have kept the window rolled up. Many joked, asking whether he was new in Dhaka or how the mugger ruined the mood created by the song's beats.

Others were less amused, pointing out how Karwan Bazar remains a hotspot for muggings and is unsafe for commuters.

Ashad's Facebook profile also showed that he works in the BNP Media Cell. However, the cell's Member Shairul Kabir Khan confirmed to The Business Standard that they do not know him. "He [Ashad] is not a member of the BNP Media Cell."