Members of the Special Response Battalion (SRB) have arrested four people over the theft of a 70-kg bell from St Christina Catholic Church near Asad Gate in Mohammadpur, Dhaka.
Major M Mubeen Rahman Tapash, deputy director (media) of SRB-2, confirmed the arrests in a press release issued on Monday.
The bell, made of different metals and valued at approximately Tk3.5 lakh, was stolen on 1 October. On the same day, Peter Baroi, a member of the church, filed a case with Mohammadpur Police Station over the incident.
SRB-2 launched an intelligence operation on the day of the theft to recover the bell and arrest those involved. On 3 October, they detained two suspects, Rahim Badshah, 41, from Mohammadpur and Sohag, 29, from Gazipur.
On 11 October, an operation in Lalmatia led to the arrest of the alleged gang leader, Md Alamgir Hossain, 45, and the buyer, Md Rifatul Islam Antar, 25.
Mohammadpur Police had recovered the bell from a garbage dump in Lalmatia on 2 October.
SRB-2 said Alamgir faces three previous cases at Mohammadpur Police Station under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, including one for preparation for robbery and two for burglary. Further legal action against all four suspects is under way.
