Six Arrested Two and a Half Months After Elderly Woman Drugged and Robbed in Kushtia

Kushtia Model Police Station has arrested six people in connection with a robbery in which an elderly woman, alone at home, was sprayed with a sedative known as 'shoytaner nishwash' (devil's breath), rendered unconscious, and robbed of Tk 10 lakh in cash and 20 bhori of gold ornaments.

Nearly two and a half months after the incident, the arrests were made in raids in different parts of Kushtia and in Gangni in the neighbouring district of Meherpur, with the help of information technology. Police recovered 45.78 grams of the looted gold, with an estimated market value of Tk 7,85,000.

Zakir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kushtia Model Police Station, confirmed the information on Sunday (8 November).

Police said the gang entered the house in the Purba Majampur area of Kushtia town between 3:13 pm and 3:30 pm on 16 August — a span of just 17 minutes. They applied the sedative to the elderly woman, who was alone in the house, and made her unconscious. They then fled with Tk 10 lakh in cash and a large quantity of gold ornaments kept in the house.

The victim's son, Wasif Billah, filed a case at Kushtia Model Police Station, naming several people.

Sub-Inspector Badshah Mia of Kushtia Model Police Station, who was in charge of the case, conducted a raid on Saturday (7 November) afternoon in the Naoda Hogolbaria (Shukurkandi) area under Gangni police station in Meherpur, with the help of information technology. He arrested the named accused Naim Hossain, Parvina Khatun and Intadul. Based on their information, Tariqul Islam and Mizanur Rahman were also arrested.

Later, acting on information given by the arrested persons, Reha Khatun was arrested around 5 pm from her own home in the Khalishakundi area of Daulatpur in Kushtia.

Police said the recovered items included a gold necklace, a pair of earrings, a pair of jhumkas, a pair of bangles, a pair of kantana, two gold rings and a neck chain. When the recovered ornaments were tested at a local gold shop, they were preliminarily confirmed to be gold. Their total weight is 45.78 grams, with an estimated market value of Tk 7,85,000.

Officer-in-Charge Zakir Hossain said the accused were identified and arrested through an investigation aided by information technology. The elderly woman was made unconscious by applying the sedative known as 'devil's breath' before the gold ornaments were looted, and the process of taking legal action against those involved is under way.