Highway Robbery in Nawabganj: Eight Members of Inter-District Gang Arrested, Goods Worth Tk 12 Lakh Recovered

District detective police (DB) in Dinajpur have arrested eight active members of an inter-district robbery gang over a highway robbery in Nawabganj, where trees were felled across the road to stop four vehicles, including a Sundarban Courier Service covered van. Locally made weapons used in the robbery and looted goods were recovered in the operation.

The recovered goods include laptops and mobile phones of various brands. Police put the approximate value of the recovered items at around Tk 12 lakh.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Anwar Hossain gave the details at a press briefing at the Dinajpur Superintendent of Police's office on Tuesday (20 October) afternoon. The officer-in-charge of the district DB branch, Mohammad Alamgir, was also present.

The arrestees are Md Shakil Sarkar (26), Md Ruhul Amin (35), Md Rashed Mia (30), Md Rabiul Pradhan (35), Md Sajju Mia (53), Md Ariful Islam alias Chairman (42), Md Shahin Mia (30) and Md Miraj Mia (26). Their homes are in different areas of Gaibandha and Rangpur, and the gang has been identified as an inter-district group that travelled into Dinajpur to carry out the robbery.

The briefing said a gang of robbers struck vehicles on the road in the Jamalpur area of Ward No. 3 of Mahmudpur Union in Nawabganj upazila from around 1:15am to 2:45am on Monday night (19 October).

The robbers felled trees across the road to stop the vehicles and held drivers, assistants and passengers hostage at weapon-point. The victims were beaten and their belongings looted. Four vehicles in total, including the courier service's covered van, were robbed.

After the incident, Sundarban Courier Service filed a complaint with Nawabganj police station. Police and intelligence agencies began an investigation, and a technology-driven operation identified and arrested the eight gang members.

Detailing the recovered goods, police listed two HP laptops; mobile phones of the Infinix, Oppo, Vivo, Honor and Samsung brands; one Maxtel button phone; one machete and one knife. The two weapons were used in the robbery, police said.

Additional SP Anwar Hossain said anyone else involved in the robbery would also be brought under the law — meaning the investigation does not end with the eight arrests, and operations to trace the remaining gang members will continue.

The late-night road-block robbery had spread fear in the area. Police said legal action is being taken against the arrestees and the process will move forward through the courts.