Five buses fall prey to muggers in 40 days in Savar, two within 30 minutes today
With the latest additions, at least five buses have been mugged and passengers looted by criminals since 2 March in Savar, raising concerns about the safety of commuters on the road. Of the incidents, three took place near the Bank Town Bridge area
Unidentified individuals hijacked two moving buses and looted gold ornaments from the passengers at knifepoint today (11 April) within 30 minutes on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Savar in a similar fashion.
With the latest additions, at least five buses have fallen prey to muggers since 2 March in Savar, raising concerns about the safety of commuters on the road.
Today, the first incident took place at around 11:30am in the C&B area of the Dhaka-Aricha highway on a Rajdhani Paribahan bus bound for Nabinagar, a female passenger on the bus told The Business Standard.
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"I boarded the Rajdhani Paribahan bus from the Radio Colony area to go to the campus in the morning. Before the bus reached the C&B bridge, three muggers with knives asked the driver to stop the bus," Jannatul Ferdous, a student of the 53rd batch of the Chemistry Department of Jahangirnagar University, who was on the bus, told The Business Standard over the phone.
"When the driver stopped the bus, they took the passengers hostage at knifepoint, snatched the cash and gold ornaments from the passengers and got off the bus. Later, I also got off at the campus, at the Dairy Gate," she added.
"There were three of them in total. They were probably boarding the bus long before the incident. No one had a mask on their face. And there were many passengers on the bus. But no one actually protested; everyone sat quietly at knifepoint," she added.
Savar police, however, said they were not aware of any such incidents and that no one has filed any complaints in this regard.
When contacted, Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Jewel Mia said, "We will investigate and take action regarding these incidents."
"All our units have been working. So far, no one has been arrested. However, the investigation has been started with great seriousness," he added.
The second mugging incident took place near the Bank Town Bridge area on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway, just half an hour later at 12:00pm.
In an eerily similar fashion, unidentified individuals hijacked a moving Savar Paribahan bus and looted gold ornaments from the passengers at knifepoint.
The incident happened while the bus was crossing a bridge on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway at Bank Town area in the upazila, said Tayefur Rahman, a local senior journalist who was also hijacked.
Talking to The Business Standard, Tayefur said, "Me along with my wife and kid got into a bus of Savar Paribahan to go from Bank Town area to Shyamoli around 12pm. The bus was crossing a bridge in the middle of Bank Town and Police Town areas when some three to four individuals who were already in the bus looted gold ornaments from the women passengers by pointing knives at them."
"The hijackers snatched my wife's gold locket and chain. There were 20-25 passengers on the bus. The hijackers only targeted gold ornaments worn by the women. They did not take away the mobile phones from the passengers," Tayefur added.
However, the other passengers of the bus could not be reached by our correspondent.
Tayefur further told TBS that the passengers detained the bus driver inside a bus counter after reaching Gabtoli. Tayefur left the place later.
Although Tayefur could not confirm where the hijackers got into the bus, he said the hijackers had stopped the bus on the bridge between Bank Town and Police Town areas.
The hijackers got down on the bridge and left the bus there, according to Tayefur.
Bank Town Bridge area -- a hotspot for bus mugging?
Earlier on 4 April, in broad daylight, armed men looted cash, mobile phones and gold ornaments from passengers of a moving Itihas Paribaha bus on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway near the Bank Town Bridge area.
Victims reported that the robbers forced them to hand over their valuables at knifepoint before escaping in the Fulbaria area, The Business Standard reported on the day.
After the robbery, the bus driver and helper allegedly abandoned the vehicle and fled. Locals later detained the bus and handed it over to the Savar Model Police Station along with the driver and helper.
Ripon Sarkar, one of the victims, told The Business Standard that he boarded the Itihas Paribahan bus from Chandra to Dhaka around 2:00pm. "Along the way, three individuals boarded the bus and instructed passengers to stay quiet at knifepoint. They robbed their [passengers] gold jewellery, cash, and mobile phones before fleeing in the Fulbaria area."
Speaking to TBS today, Savar OC Jewel said, "Three people have been arrested over the mugging. They have been sent to court in the case filed over the incident."
Prior to that, passengers of a Shuvojatra Paribahan bus heading towards Manikganj were mugged and looted near the Radio Colony area of Savar on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Savar on 25 March, with armed assailants looting cash, mobile phones, and other valuables from passengers.
Eyewitnesses said the muggers snatched cash, mobile phones and ornaments from all the passengers on the bus.
Earlier, on 2 March, passengers of a Rajdhani Paribahan bus were looted in a similar way near the Bank Town Bridge area.
The mugging took place in broad daylight with armed men looting cash, mobile phones, and gold jewellery from passengers before fleeing the scene.
The frequent mugging incidents have led to concerns that Savar's Dhaka-Aricha Highway might be turning into a hotspot for mugging on moving buses, particularly in the Bank Town Bridge area, despite a police checkpost near the bridge.
When asked the reason behind the sudden reported surge in bus muggings, Savar OC Jewel said, "The incident of mugging is not new. Such incidents are happening in many places. We are trying our best to suppress such crimes."
When asked about the mugging incidents near the Bank Town Bridge area, Savar Police Station Inspector Md Ashiq told TBS, "The bus driver and helper were arrested in the April 4 bus hijacking incident. We are looking for the driver and helper of today's bus that was looted. If they are interrogated, the matter of the Bank Town bus stand will be understood."
