BANDARBAN, Apr 3: Sixteen hours after a Sonali Bank branch was robbed in Bandarbans Ruma Upazila, armed robbers attacked two more banks in Thanchi Upazila on Wednesday.
Two vehicles full of armed men swarmed into the neighbouring branches of the Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Sonali Bank in the Upazila around 12:30pm on Wednesday, said Krishi Bank branch Manager Hla Sui Thwai.
"In the blink of an eye, they entered and took everyone inside the bank hostage. They rounded up everyone into a room and locked the door." The Krishi bank manager was unable to say whether they had looted money from the bank.
"We are not yet sure what they did inside the bank," he said. "Well be able to say for sure once we look at everything."
The bank manager said that the neighbouring branch of Sonali Bank had also been attacked. Some 16 hours after the robbery at Sonali Bank, armed robbers attack two more banks in Bandarban.
"We have received reports that a bank in Thanchi was attacked a short while ago," said Bandarban Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Abdul Karim. "We believe the group from Tuesday is responsible. There have been no developments regarding the investigation into Tuesdays incident."
More than 100 men took part in the attack on the Sonali Bank branch in Ruma Upazilas Sadar area around 9:00pm on Tuesday. At least 20 people, including officials and security personnel, were assaulted and the branch Manager Nezam Uddin was kidnapped.
Law enforcers believe members of the separatist hill tribal group Kuki-Chin National Front or KNF, better known as the Bawm Party, carried out the attacks.
Armed robbers entered the premises of branches of Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank in Bandarbans Thanchi upazila Wednesday and looted more than Tk 20 lakh around noon. The incident took place in the upazilas Thanchi Bazar area around 12:30pm, Thanchi Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Mamun told our Bandarban correspondent.
The robbers left the banks, situated close to each other, and the area less than 10 minutes after they stormed the branches, witnesses said.
Once inside the banks, the robbers seized the weapons of the security personnel and broke all the CCTV cameras, people who were inside the bank said. They then took cash from the counters and from the customers who had just made withdrawals from their accounts .
They took around Tk 15 lakh from the Sonali Bank branch, and around Tk 5 to Tk 7 lakh from Krishi Bank, the UNO said around 2:00pm. The robbers fired rounds of shots inside the branches, the witnesses said.
Around 50 to 60 men dressed in camouflage came to the area around 11:30am, and started taking mobile phones of the people present there, said locals.
Then around 12:30pm, 15 to 20 of the armed men entered each bank branch, while 15 to 20 more were positioned at the nearby Sangu Bridge. All of them then left the area less than 10 minutes after the robbers entered the banks.
Around 9:00pm Tuesday night, armed criminals stormed Bandarbans Ruma upazila parishad complex, disarmed security personnel and took their firearms, robbed the Sonali Bank branch there, and abducted bank manager Nezam Uddin.
IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, Chattogram Range Additional DIG Md Mahfuzur Rahman, Bandarban Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shah Mojahid Uddin, and Police Super Saikat Saheen visited the spots after the robbery.
"We are putting in our maximum efforts to find out the abducted Sonali Bank official and catch the miscreants," the IGP told the journalists while replying to their queries after inspecting the scene.
"The CID has been informed. Details would be revealed soon after the investigation is completed," DC Shah Mojahid Uddin said.
After the robbery, six upazila level branches of Sonali Bank have suspended all kinds of operations until further notice. Only the Bandarban towns branches are open for now.
