Photo : Collected
A group of robbers launched an attack on the workshop of Chinese Sino Hydro Company, which is involved in metrorail work. This incident occurred on Tuesday (April 2) around 6:30 pm, on the opposite side of the boat club on Mirpur Beribandh. Initially, they subdued the security guards and then proceeded to restrain the workers present at the site. The robbery persisted for approximately 5 hours, with no external intervention or notice during this extended period. Intriguingly, the CCTV camera of the workshop had been inexplicably removed prior to the robbery.
Initially, the police hesitated to file a case regarding the robbery incident. A day passed with arguments between the Turag and Rupnagar police stations. Eventually, the issue was escalated to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner. Upon examining the map of the incident, he directed the Rupnagar police station to register the case. Consequently, a day after the incident, the Rupnagar Thana police finally lodged a case.
Even after 15 days since the incident, the law enforcement authorities have been unable to find any leads, make arrests, or recover the stolen goods. However, Jasim Uddin Molla, Deputy Commissioner of Mirpur Division, stated that a case has been filed at the police station and investigations are underway. He also mentioned that the intelligence team is actively involved in the case, expressing hope for results soon.
In the aftermath of this alarming incident, the workers still harbor a sense of fear. They have expressed feelings of insecurity following the robbery that occurred that night.
Md. Shakib from Sitakunda, who worked as a mechanic in the Sino Hydro factory for a year, recounted the harrowing experience of the robbery. He described how he and his colleagues were having iftar, with four of them seated in one room, when suddenly 10-12 assailants barged in, brandishing knives. Shakib, visibly shaken when asked about the incident, vividly recalled the terrifying scene.
Shakib recounted, "We were in the middle of iftar when suddenly 10-12 people stormed in, holding knives to our throats. I was using my phone at the time. One of the robbers threatened me to stop using it. Then they tied us up and moved us to an adjacent room where three other workers were already restrained. They held all of us hostage inside the room while they ransacked the premises and looted the goods."
According to the workers' accounts, there were a total of 10 individuals present at the time of the robbery. One worker was assigned to security duty at the gate, two were engaged in prayer, and the remaining seven were split between two rooms. The robbers initially gained entry to the workshop by posing as members of the DB police. Subsequently, they subdued the security guard and the seven individuals in the rooms. Later, when the two workers who were praying returned to the workshop, they too were tied. Following this, the robbers proceeded to load the stolen goods into a vehicle and made their escape.
According to the written complaint given to the police station, the looted goods include 18 small and big batteries worth Tk 180,000, various types of car and engine parts worth Tk 4 lakh, two types of copper standard wabs worth Tk 12 lakh and 2000 worth Tk 50,000. 592 pieces of middle clamp (size 60 mm), 5 thousand 760 indclams worth Tk 1 lakh 46 thousand, 1,616 pieces of bolts worth Tk 4 thousand 398, a battery charger worth Tk 20 thousand, welding machine worth Tk 35 thousand and cash held by employees 1 lakh 10 thousand taka. In total, the robbers have taken goods worth about crores of taka.
In this incident, Masud, representing Sino Hydro, visited the Rupnagar police station in the capital and filed a case. Manju Mia, the company's site engineer, provided a statement for the case, detailing the events. According to Manju Mia, on April 2 around 6:30 pm, 8 to 10 robbers armed with knives, chapatis, and traditional weapons entered the workshop. They targeted Mohan, the security guard at the gate, tied him up, and threatened everyone present. The robbers then proceeded to steal approximately Tk 1 lakh 10 thousand from the workers. All the robbers spoke in the regional languages of Barisal and Dhaka, and they were tall in stature, with one being chubby and the others ranging from 5 feet 6 inches to 10 inches tall. The workers addressed the tallest robber as 'Sir' and were informed that they were from the police station and had come to carry out a task. The tallest robber wore a light yellow half-sleeved shirt, while the others were dressed in shirts, vests, pants, and lungis.
Around 8:30 pm, the workers heard the sound of a vehicle entering the workshop, followed by noises indicating items being broken and loaded onto the vehicle. The robbery continued until 11:17 pm. As the robbers prepared to leave, they locked all the workers inside a room, leaving the key outside. They assured the workers that they would not take their mobile phones, as taking them would risk their capture.
Messenger/Fameema
