Staff Correspondent Miscreants shot dead 8 people, including the manager of Bangladesh Commerce Bank's Kathgora branch in Ashulia on the outskirts of Dhaka, and injured 20 others during a broad daylight robbery in the bank on Tuesday afternoon.
Angry locals caught two of the robbers - Raju and Mamun - and beat one of them dead. The other one was handed over to police.
Mustafa Kamal, officer-in-charge (OC) of Ashulia Model police station, told Shoriful Kabir Shamim, our JU correspondent, that the other dead victims have been identified as Md Wali Ullah, manager of the bank, Palash, a customer of the bank, Zillur Rahman, a workshop owner, Monir Hossain, 55, a shop owner, and Badrul Alam, a security guard of the bank.
Bodies have been kept at Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar.
Two others injured succumbed to their bullet injuries at Enam Medical College Hospital at about 8: 12pm. Anowar Kader Nazim, director of the hospital, confirmed the deaths of businessmen Jamir Ali, 26, and Nur Mohammad, 45
Mohammad Rasel Sheikh, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in Savar Circle, quoted bank officials and witnesses as saying that an armed gang of 12/15 miscreants entered the bank and kept the manager and other officials hostage at gun point at about 2:30pm.
When the officials were finishing their lunch, the robbers entered the bank separately in the guise of customers.
Once they were inside, the robbers took the bank staff hostage at gunpoint and pressed them for key of the vault. As they were delaying to give the key, the robbers started to beat up some staff.
Suddenly the dacoits started looting money blasting bombs and spraying bullets that left the manager and security guard dead on the spot, according to an eyewitness account of the robbery.
Sensing the killings and looting inside the bank, someone sought help through microphone of a local mosque.
Responding to the call, local people rushed in and cordoned the dacoits. The robbers tried to flee the area quickly by firing several rounds of shots, hurling cocktails and blasting grenades. Four people were hit by bullets at that time
Angered by the sudden attack, local people chased the robbers and caught one of them. They beat the thug, killing him on the spot.
Sensing presence of the robbers inside, shop owners on the ground floor of the building went upstairs and tried to enter the bank.
Several thousand locals rushed to the bank with sticks and tried to lay siege to the building to capture the robbers.
Sensing danger, the robbers blasted several homemade bombs and fired in the air to scare away the locals.
Twenty-five injured were rushed to the Enam Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared the bank manager, shop owner Monir, bank customer Palash, security guard Badrul and workshop owner Zillur dead.
When police went to recover other members of the robbery group from the locals, they got locked into a clash with the locals. The angry mob vandalised two police vehicles.
Later, more police personnel arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control, and rescued a robber and took him to Enam Medical College and Hospital.
The Ashulia OC also said five cocktails and grenades were recovered from the scene. They tried to take away Tk5 lakh in cash, making bank officers hostage using weapons, the OC added.
SM Mahfuzul Haque Nuruzzaman, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Dhaka Range, told the Daily Observer: "Police started drives in the area immediately after the incident." A process of filling a murder case was underway till filling of this report till 8:00pm on Tuesday evening.