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Yet another incident has taken place in Savar, where passengers have been robbed inside a moving bus.
According to a passenger named Tayefur Rahman, the robbery occurred around 12pm on Friday aboard a Savar Paribahan bus travelling towards Dhaka from Chandra, near the Bank Town area.
Tayefur said the robbers, posing as regular passengers, brought out knives to threaten the other passengers before snatching away their gold ornaments and mobile phones, according to bdnews24.com.
Describing what he witnessed, Tayefur said: "I was travelling to Dhaka with my family on that bus. When the bus stopped at Bank Town Stand, three young men got on board.”
"As the bus reached the Bank Town Bridge, the men pulled out weapons and held the female passengers at knifepoint. They stole mobile phones, gold chains, earrings, and cash from them before getting off the bus."
He added, "The robbers snatched a gold chain weighing nearly one bhori (each bhori equivalent to 11.66g) from my wife's neck, along with a locket."
"I believe that the bus driver and his assistant were involved in the robbery. If they are brought under investigation, more information about the robbers could come to light," said Tayefur.
Despite multiple police checkpoints set up along the Savar stretch of the highway, incidents of robbery and snatching on moving buses continue.
A five kilometre stretch of the Dhaka-Aricha Highway, from Fulbaria Bus Stand to the Jahangirnagar University Prantik Gate, has become notorious for such incidents. Areas like Police Town, Bank Town, Genda, Shimultola, Radio Colony, and C&B frequently witness robberies and snatchings in broad daylight.
Earlier, on Apr 5, passengers on an Itihas Paribahan bus were robbed at knifepoint by men posing as passengers in Bank Town.
On Mar 2, a robbery took place near Radio Colony Bus Stand when armed men looted a bus belonging to Rajdhani Paribahan.
On Feb 14, another robbery occurred in Police Town, on a Shubhojatra Paribahan bus travelling from Manikganj to Dhaka.
In total, at least five incidents of robbery and snatching on moving buses have been reported in the past three months.
Salauddin Khan Naeem, general secretary of the Savar Citizens' Committee, expressed his anger over these repeated daytime robberies that use the same tactics. He urged the authorities to step up highway security without any further delay.
Savar Model Police chief Jewel Mia said, "We have patrol teams working continuously to catch the robbers. Our officers were present in Genda when the incident took place. Operations are underway to detain those involved in the Savar Paribahan bus robbery."
Acknowledging multiple robberies on moving buses in Savar, Shahinur Kabir, additional superintendent of police for Savar Circle, pointed out the increased highway patrolling.
"Many involved have already been arrested. Additionally, special technology is being used to catch criminals. The robbers will be brought to justice as soon as possible."