Passengers held hostage on moving bus in Savar, robbed of money, mobile phones, gold ornaments, 1 injured
A group of robbers boarded a moving bus on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Savar, near Dhaka, and took passengers hostage. They took them hostage with sharp weapons and stole money, mobile phones and gold ornaments. A passenger was stabbed while trying to stop the robbers.
The robbery took place on the Dhaka-Aricha highway from in front of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center (BPATC) in Savar to the gate area adjacent to Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall of Jahangirnagar University on Friday (December 20) evening. Md. Shamim Hossain (30), who was injured by the robbers' knife attack, has been treated at the private Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar. He is a resident of Sreepur Notunnagar area of Ashulia.
Talking to the bus passengers and the bus owner, it was learned that a bus carrying passengers with the Welcome banner left Motijheel, Dhaka for Chandra on Friday afternoon. When the bus reached in front of BPATC in Savar at around 6:30 pm, a group of 3-4 hijackers boarded the bus. They held some people hostage with sharp country-made weapons. Later, they snatched money, mobile phones and gold ornaments from 15-20 passengers on the bus. When some tried to stop them, they were beaten and one of them was stabbed. Later, the hijackers went down the speed breaker on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in front of the gate adjacent to Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall of Jahangirnagar University.
Eyewitnesses said that after the bus reached the main gate of the university, some students stopped the bus and questioned the driver and the driver's assistant. Later, they took the bus to the Bishmail area. Upon receiving the information, the police reached the spot and took the bus, along with the driver and the driver's assistant, into their custody.
Meanwhile, the bus passenger injured in the stabbing, Md. Shamim Hossain, was first given primary treatment at Jahangirnagar University Medical Center. Later, he was taken to Enam Medical College Hospital. Hasan Mahbub, a doctor on duty at the hospital's emergency department, said, "A person injured in the stabbing named Shamim has been brought to the hospital. There are stab marks on his body."
A passenger on the bus, Harun Or Rashid, said that after the bus passed the Savar Radio Colony area around 6:30 pm, three young men armed with sharp weapons suddenly took the bus passengers hostage. First, they stabbed a passenger sitting in the front seat of the bus. Later, they looted money and belongings from all the passengers.
A representative of Welcome Paribahan, who did not wish to be named, said, "3-4 people got on the bus from in front of BPATC in Savar with small knives. Then they held a knife to the throat of a child on the bus. They were between 25-30 years old."
Ashulia Police Station Sub-Inspector Alok Kumar Dey said, passengers said that some robbers from the BPATC area boarded the bus, held some hostage at sharp weapons, and quickly got off the bus after the robbery. Later, students of Jahangirnagar University detained the bus and the driver. After reaching the spot after receiving the information, several passengers narrated the incident. Since the incident was in the Savar Model Police Station area, the victims have been advised to file a complaint with the Savar Model Police Station.
Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Jewel Mia said that a team of them is working on the matter. Details will be announced later.
