Dacoity at Babuganj Agri Research Instt
50 miscreants tie up guards and Ansars, loot Tk 1.44 lakh, papers
Our Correspondent, Barisal
A gang of about 50 armed miscreants, identifying themselves as Sarbaharas (outlaws), looted the Agricultural Research Institute at Rahamatpur in Babuganj upazila in the early hours of Tuesday.Police detained four staff and guards for interrogation, suspecting their involvement with the miscreants. Police and sources at the institute said the miscreants scaled the institute's boundary walls at about 1-30 am Tuesday. Divided into groups, they tied up eight night guards and 18 Ansars. The miscreants then entered the two buildings in the administrative block, broke 26 door locks and ransacked 18 rooms. They also broke open about 30 almirahs, 15 file cabinets and looted Tk 1.44 lakh. They squandered files and took away documents and papers, but did not touch computers, cameras, photostat machines and other valuable office equipment. They left the campus after about three hours. Some residents on the campus knew about the incident when they saw the tied up guards Tuesday morning.Barisal Police Superintendent Moinur Rahman Chowdhury and other high officials visited the spot on Tuesday. Dr. Md. Iqbal Akhter, Chief Scientific Officer of the institute, lodged a case with Babuganj police station without naming any accused. The detained people are master roll employees Hamid Gain and Ansar Mridha, office staff Babu Khan and Ansar member Abul Mia. None was arrested and no looted money or office document could be recovered till yesterday, police said.
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