Pallabi metro station phone snatching goes viral: Victim claims police inaction

A group of muggers snatched a mobile phone from a man at knifepoint near the metro station in the capital's Pallabi area, CCTV footage of which went viral. 

The victim, Al-Amin Rana, an employee at a private firm in Nikunja and a resident of Pallabi, however, has claimed that he did not receive any assistance after filing a written complaint on the issue.

Police said the incident took place on 24 May at around 11:30pm. They have collected CCTV footage and are trying to arrest the accused.

The footage has been widely circulated on social media since last night (25 May).

Speaking to The Business Standard, Al-Amin said he suffered injuries to his hand and leg during the attack. He ran after the muggers but they fled the scene in an auto-rickshaw.

He said he filed a written complaint at the Pallabi Police Station the same night and was given the phone number of a sub-inspector (SI) who was said to be handling the case.

"I was at the scene till 2am but no one came. The next morning, I contacted the police station again, and the duty officer asked me to submit a fresh complaint, which I didn't. Later, I managed to collect CCTV footage of the incident and submitted it to the police," he said.

He claimed that there was no follow-up until the video spread on social media, prompting the police to respond.

Sub-Inspector Joy Das, the officer assigned to the case, denied any negligence. 

Speaking to The Business Standard, he said, "I went to the scene that night, but the victim was not present. I also spoke with him again yesterday and collected the CCTV footage today."

He added, "Pallabi is a densely populated area with several slums. We are short-staffed, but we are doing our best to control crime."

Contacted, Pallabi Police Station's newly-appointed Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shafiul Alam said he had only joined the station yesterday and was made aware of the incident through journalists today.