Female passengers ‘molested’ during looting

Staff Correspondent:

An incident of bus Dacoity occurred once again on the Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Bridge highway early Wednesday.

A gang of robbers took control of a passenger bus and looted all belongings from the passengers between 11:30 pm on Tuesday and 5:00 am on Wednesday.

Some of the passengers reported that female passengers were sexually harassed during the looting.

According to the bus driver, supervisor and several passengers, an Al Imran Paribahan bus left Abdullahpur in Dhaka for Rangpur around 8:00 pm on Tuesday.

The bus assistant, Atikur Rahman, stated that some passengers boarded the bus from Narsinghapur, Baipail and Ashulia in Savar. With about 45 passengers, including approximately 10 females, the bus crossed Elenga in Kalihati upazila of Tangail around 11:30 pm.

Just after crossing a few kilometers of the eastern approach road of the Jamuna Bridge, some 8–10 dacoits disguised as passengers took control of the bus at knifepoint, wielding machetes and other local weapons.

The robbers blindfolded and gagged all the passengers, including the driver. They turned the bus around at the Golchattar area on the eastern end of the bridge and started driving back toward Dhaka. Along the way, they searched every passenger and looted mobile phones, money, gold, and other valuables.

The robbers took the bus to the Chandra-Ashulia area in Savar and circled between there and Tangail four or five times throughout the night, bus driver Abed Ali said.

Around 5:30 am, the robbers left the bus in the Shibpur area on the Tangail city bypass road and fled.

Later, in the morning, Abed Ali drove the bus and passengers to Tangail Sadar police station.

At the station, senior police officials, including Superintendent of Police Mizanur Rahman, were seen speaking with the bus staff and passengers.

Jewel Mia, a passenger from Adamdighi in Bogura, said that female passengers were molested while being searched for money and valuables.

He further said though his eyes and mouth were blindfolded and gagged, he could hear the women crying and pleading.

Another passenger, Akash Mia from Kaunia in Rangpur, said that the robbers tied up their hands, feet, and eyes, and searched each person several times, taking everything they had.

Tangail Sadar police station officer-in-charge (OC) Tanvir Ahmed said that the process of filing a case is underway and that the police have started working to identify the robbers.

Earlier, a similar Dacoity and incident of sexual harassment occurred on a Unique Royals bus on this same highway on 17 February. On 2 August 2022, an incident of Dacoity and rape occurred on a Kushtia-bound bus.