7 held in Chattogram for looting flat, car posing as TV journalists
Inspector Aftab Hossain of Chattogram DB said the accused were being interrogated. “On the day of the incident, they carried a microphone and introduced themselves as journalists, but none of them have any link to the media,” he said.
Police have arrested seven people, including a woman, in connection with the looting of valuables and a car worth Tk45 lakh from a flat in Chattogram after they posed as television journalists.
The arrestees are Abdul Matin, Ashraful Islam, Md Momin, Sharmin Akhter, Nur Mohammad Sabbir, Rubel Hossain, and Md Faisal.
Detective Branch (DB) officials of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) made the arrests on Thursday afternoon (23 October) during raids in the Bayezid Bostami, EPZ, and Kotwali areas, said Habibur Rahman, deputy commissioner (north) of Chattogram DB.
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He said the DB team arrested the suspects after taking over the investigation and recovered the stolen Toyota Corolla car. Police also seized a motorcycle used in the robbery.
Inspector Aftab Hossain of Chattogram DB said the accused were being interrogated. "On the day of the incident, they carried a microphone and introduced themselves as journalists, but none of them have any link to the media," he said.
"Most of them work at shops in different parts of the city. We suspect they may have committed similar crimes earlier using fake journalist identities, but victims might have refrained from lodging complaints out of fear or embarrassment," he added.
According to police, the robbery occurred on 10 October in a third-floor flat of a multi-storey building in the city's Khulshi area.
A group of 10–12 people entered the flat claiming to be journalists from private television channel My TV. Once inside, they allegedly held the residents at gunpoint and looted gold ornaments, cash, and mobile phones.
They also took the housemaid downstairs, saying they needed to "inspect" a newly purchased car parked below the building. They then snatched the car keys and fled with the vehicle and other valuables, said police.
Later, a case was filed with Khulshi Police Station.
