Fake DB gang busted in city
Eight members of a gang, who allegedly abduct people for ransom identifying themselves as law enforcers, were detained by the newly-formed anti-kidnapping squad at the capital's Badda on Sunday night.
A wireless set, a pair of handcuff, 20 crude bombs and a Russian-made shotgun were also recovered from a microbus of the gang, said Deputy Commissioner Krishna Pada Roy of DB (South).
A paper bearing the mark 'DB- police' in Bangla was pasted on a windshield of the 12-seater microbus, he told a press briefing at the media centre of Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday afternoon. The detainees -- Tajal Mridha alias Sujon alias Suha , 32, Jamal Uddin, 35, Shipon, 30, Yakub, 31, Mamun Khalifa, 28, Rubel, 25, Shimul Sardar, 27, and Rafiqullah Shaheed, 47 -- were picked up around 11:30 pm.
There was another group of about 5 armed men who managed to escape by another microbus during the operation in Aftabnagar area at Badda, Roy said.
"During primary investigation, we learnt that this group carried out heists in many districts outside Dhaka. We are contacting police stations outside the capital to find out more about them," he added.
This group alone has about 35 members and many of them have served different jail terms for different crimes.
They come out of jail on bail, reorganise themselves and commit more crimes, said Sanowar Hossain, head of DB's anti-kidnapping squad that was formed on Saturday.
The members mostly abduct people from streets and then force the victims to draw money either from their ATM cards or contact the victims' relatives for ransom, he said.
There are about 20 such groups across the country and they use false identities of law enforcers to abduct people for ransom, Sanowar, also an additional deputy commissioner of Detective Branch (DB) of DMP, said.
He said the eight detainees had not yet confessed to killing any people after abduction. Four cases were filed against them with Badda Police Station.
During the press briefing Roy also gave advice on how to avoid abductions by fake law enforcers.
To distinguish a fake law enforcer from the real one in case of plain-clothes operation, Roy said family members of the person, who is going to be taken into custody, must ask the lawmen to show their badges.
They also must contact the police station concerned to verify the identities of the law enforcers who are conducting the operation.
Usually in plain-clothes operation, a team in civil dress makes the first move. But a team dressed in police uniform also remains as back-up force during the drive, he said.
"We have also briefed our members to introduce themselves in an acceptable manner to the family members during any operation," he added.
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