A gang of muggers snatched Tk1.21 crore from employees of DL Filling Station – owned by Tasin Akter Huq, a cousin of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman – on their way to deposit the money in a bank in the capital’s Uttara.
The incident took place on Sunday between 10am and 10:30am on the south side of the RAB-1 Battalion headquarters. Airport Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Kamrul Hasan Talukdar confirmed the matter on Monday.
According to the OC, the petrol pump typically records daily transactions of Tk45 lakh to 50 lakh. As banks were closed on Friday and Saturday, the accumulated earnings from those two days were being transported for deposit on Sunday, resulting in a larger sum than usual.
During the journey, the muggers intercepted the vehicle, threatened an employee with a pistol, and hacked him with sharp weapons before fleeing with the money.
Md Abdul Karim, the manager of the filling station, filed a case with Airport Police Station on Sunday. In the complaint, he alleged that six to seven miscreants on three motorcycles signalled their covered van to stop while brandishing weapons.
The attackers, armed with pistols and machetes, demanded the money bag from Assistant Manager Al Amin.
When Al Amin refused to hand over the bag, one of the muggers held a pistol to his chest, while another used a sharp weapon to slash his left elbow, palm, and left leg. The attackers then seized the bag and fled the scene on their motorcycles.
The police are currently investigating the incident. “We are trying to identify the muggers by reviewing CCTV footage and verifying the motorcycle licence plate numbers,” said OC Talukdar, adding that operations are ongoing to arrest the culprits and recover the looted cash.
Tasin Akter Huq, one of the owners of DL Filling Station, is the younger son of the late Khurshid Jahan Huq, a former lawmaker and minister. Khurshid Jahan Huq was the sister of the late former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
