Police have arrested three people in connection with the robbery of 400 gas cylinders from a truck in Raiganj, Sirajganj. Officers have recovered 48 of the stolen cylinders and seized a mini-truck during the operation.
The arrests were made during separate raids in Shahjahanpur and Bogura Sadar areas of Bogura late on Wednesday night, 14 October.
Saiful Islam Khan, additional superintendent of police for the Raiganj circle, confirmed the arrests at around noon on Thursday, 15 October.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohidul Islam, 26, a truck driver from Shahjahanpur upazila in Bogura; his assistant, Sakib Hossain, 20; and Golam Mostafa, 46, from Bogura Sadar upazila.
According to police, Mohammad Shafiullah, 30, a resident of Dikrir Char (Gopchar) in Narayanganj Sadar upazila, filed a case in connection with the incident. He is the son of the late Mohammad Panna Ullah. The three suspects were arrested as part of the investigation and were scheduled to be produced before a court on Thursday afternoon.
According to the case statement, the incident occurred at around 3am on 7 October. A truck carrying 400 gas cylinders from various companies left Talukdar Filling Station in Chaknur village of Raiganj, heading towards Dhaka.
When the truck reached the Rouha Bridge area, a group of 15 to 16 unidentified individuals blocked its path. The attackers threatened to kill the driver, Asif, and others travelling in the vehicle, using sharp knives to intimidate them.
Two members of the group then took control of the truck by sitting beside the driver.
At around 4am, the vehicle was stopped on an isolated road near a cemetery in the Sholomile Fire Service area. The attackers transferred all 400 gas cylinders onto two mini-trucks and fled with the stolen goods.
They also took three mobile phones belonging to the driver and his assistant, along with Tk 86,000 in cash.
Following the filing of a case, police launched an investigation and subsequently arrested the three suspects during operations in Bogura. The recovery of 48 cylinders marks progress in the investigation, although the whereabouts of the remaining 352 cylinders remain unknown.
Police have not disclosed further details about the identities of the other individuals involved, the location of the remaining cylinders or the specific roles allegedly played by each of the arrested suspects.
The investigation is continuing to identify other people involved in the robbery and recover the remaining stolen property. The allegations against the arrested individuals will be dealt with through the judicial process.
