5, including police constable, arrested over robbing expatriates

Five people, including a police constable and a dismissed member of the Bangladesh Navy, have been arrested from Purbachal and Mirpur over robbing an expatriate.

The incident took place in Rupganj and the arrests followed raids on Saturday morning (8 March).

The arrestees are Constable Rubel, dismissed constable Kajal Islam, dismissed navy member Riazul Jannat, and two members of the gang of robbers Siadat Raj and Rahmat Ali.

Sixteen bhoris of gold ornaments, seven laptops, 28 mobile phones, 53 cartons of cigarettes, 59 cartons of powdered milk, 78 sets of three pieces, and 384 cosmetic creams were also recovered. 

Recounting the incident, expatriate Jasim Uddin said, "My two friends and I have been doing business in the New Market area by importing goods from Dubai. Recently, we met a man called Sajeeb from Mirpur who also joined us.

"Last Friday, we returned from Dubai and when we reached home, eight-nine people stopped us and introduced themselves as police and navy personnel. They said we had illegal goods and would be taken to the police station."

Jasim claimed the eight were associates of Sajeeb.

He said he and his two friends were picked up by the men claiming to be law enforcers, while Sajeeb fled with the goods in a different car.

"Instead of being taken to a police station, we were brought to the Purbachal 300 feet road. There, they told us to pay Tk50 lakh. After we managed to scream and gather some people around us, they helped catch two of them including Constable Rubel," Jasim said.

Soon after, a team from RAB-1 arrived at the scene and rescued them. The other three were arrested from different areas later.

A pickup van, a private car, a handcuff, a walkie-talkie, and uniforms of law enforcement agencies were also seized from the arrestees.

In this regard, Rupganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Liaqat Ali said an organised gang of robbers kidnapped the expatriates and looted their belongings under the guise of law enforcement officers.