A major investigation has been initiated by multiple law enforcement agencies in Rajshahi following an extensive burglary at a jewellery establishment located in the Saheb Bazar Swarnapatti commercial zone. Intruders managed to compromise the target business by tunneling directly through a shared interior brick wall dividing two separate storefronts. However, the exact route of entry utilized by the perpetrators remains highly ambiguous, presenting significant challenges to local investigators. The primary crime scene has been identified as Karushree Jewellers, whilst the directly adjacent business operates as Afia Jewellers. Because the external roller shutter padlocks of both commercial units were found completely intact and showed no signs of physical tampering, detectives are facing structural contradictions in establishing how the culprits initially breached the building’s envelope.
The conflicting claims voiced by the respective shop owners have further complicated the ongoing criminal inquiry. The proprietor of Karushree Jewellers maintains that the burglars must have entered the adjacent shop first before cutting through the internal masonry partition. Conversely, the owner of the neighbouring Afia Jewellers suggests an entirely opposite sequence of events, asserting that the thieves could have theoretically breached Karushree Jewellers first and subsequently excavated the brickwork from the inside towards his shop.
Police Investigation And Reported Losses
Given that the heavy security shutters and padlocks protecting both storefronts exhibited absolutely no indications of forced entry, the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police have refrained from making premature declarations. The Case Investigating Officer, Sub-Inspector (SI) Masud Kabir of the Boalia Police Station, clarified the official position to media outlets, stating that investigators have formally interviewed the proprietors of both commercial units. He explicitly noted that no individual connected to the properties is currently excluded from suspicion, adding that the active investigation is progressing with high priority to untangle the structural mystery.
The high-value burglary took place within a specific timeframe spanning from the night of Thursday, 18 June 2026, to the early morning hours of Saturday, 20 June 2026. The targeted enterprise, Karushree Jewellers, has been operated for approximately 20 years by two brothers, Turjo Sarkar and Imon Sarkar, who reside in the Shahmakhdum College area of Rajshahi city. According to the formal complaints filed by the shop owners, the thieves successfully made off with approximately 200 bhori of gold ornaments, 1,200 bhori of silver jewelry, and 20 lakh taka in hard cash. The total financial value of the stolen commodities has been estimated by the owners to be approximately 5.5 crore taka.
Spatial Layout And Discovery Of The Burglary
The retail premises of Karushree Jewellers is situated on the ground floor of a three-storey commercial building. The entire ground level of this concrete structure is occupied by various gold and silver retail shops, whereas the second and third floors function as a residential transit hotel. Afia Jewellers is located immediately to the side of Karushree Jewellers, and an open pathway providing access to the main stairwell of the upper-floor residential hotel runs directly past its outer perimeter. Although an iron security gate is installed at this specific corridor entry point, it routinely remains unlocked to facilitate the unhindered movement of hotel patrons and staff.
On the morning of Saturday, 20 June 2026, the exterior security shutters of both Karushree Jewellers and Afia Jewellers appeared entirely undisturbed from the street. The situation was brought to light when Turjo Sarkar’s cousin, Mohammad Shuvo, arrived at the market to unlock the security shutters of Karushree Jewellers for the standard day of trading. Upon lifting the metal shutter, he discovered the showroom interior completely ransacked, the primary commercial safe physically breached, and the extensive inventory of gold missing. Furthermore, he observed that a large section of the internal brick wall separating Karushree Jewellers from Afia Jewellers had been broken away.
Upon being notified of the structural breach, Turjo Sarkar arrived at the market and immediately phoned Khondokar Arifur Rahman, the owner of Afia Jewellers. When Rahman arrived at the site, he confirmed that his shop’s outer shutter padlocks were entirely uncompromised. He used his personal keys to unlock the padlocks in front of onlookers and discovered that despite the gaping hole in the shared partition wall, the primary safe inside Afia Jewellers remained unviolated. This particular safe contained jewelry valued at approximately 1.5 lakh taka, and no items or funds were found missing from the interior of Afia Jewellers.
Commercial Protests And Law Enforcement Action
Khondokar Arifur Rahman, the owner of Afia Jewellers, strongly defended his establishment by arguing that if the thieves had used his shop as their initial point of access, the heavy exterior shutter locks would have shown signs of physical trauma. He pointed out that he only arrived and unfastened the locks with his own keys after being informed of the crisis. He argued that since the external locks of both shops were completely undamaged, it remains entirely possible that the perpetrators entered Karushree Jewellers first, carried out the theft, and subsequently broke the wall into his shop, potentially fleeing before they could attempt to crack his safe.
In immediate response to the massive burglary, gold merchants across the entire Swarnapatti sector suspended all business operations and kept their storefronts closed in a coordinated trade strike. On Saturday, the traders organized a protest rally through the city streets. By afternoon, numerous local business operators gathered outside the shuttered entrance of Karushree Jewellers to demand justice. While Turjo Sarkar was present during the demonstration, he was unable to deliver any public comments due to visible emotional distress.
His brother, Imon Sarkar, explained to reporters that they kept their entire commercial stock inside the shop premises overnight and never transported the valuable merchandise back to their private residence. He further revealed that the sophisticated culprits had deliberately unplugged and stolen the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) unit linked to the shop’s CCTV camera network to erase all recorded video evidence. Imon Sarkar’s statements suggested a deep suspicion regarding the personnel or associates of the adjacent Afia Jewellers. He openly expressed frustration with the initial speed of the official response, highlighting that 24 hours had passed without definitive updates from the local administration or the detention of suspects for formal interrogation.
An official criminal case was formally registered at the Boalia Police Station on Friday night, with Turjo Sarkar named as the primary complainant against unidentified persons. Regarding the progress of the multi-agency inquiry, the official spokesperson for the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, Additional Deputy Commissioner Gaziur Rahman, stated on Sunday afternoon, 21 June 2026, that several specialized government intelligence and police units are operating jointly on the case. He confirmed that investigators have retrieved certain technical data points that are currently undergoing comprehensive analysis, and verified findings will be shared with the press as soon as solid evidence is established. Concurrently, Ashraful Islam, the District Branch President of the Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BAJUS), noted that the 24-hour ultimatum issued by the trade body for the immediate arrest of the culprits and recovery of the assets had expired. He acknowledged that the top Police Commissioner had provided explicit assurances of a swift resolution and that elite units, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have been actively deployed to crack the case.
