Five mugged after drugged

Five people fell prey to two separate incidents of snatching-motivated sedation and lost over Tk 2.25 lakh in the city yesterday ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha.

Drugged unconscious, the five are undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Abdul Hakim, Niazuddin, Shajahan, Ismail and another unidentified man from Noakhali sold their animals at Gabtoli cattle market and had some halua (sweetmeat) at an adjacent makeshift restaurant at 2:00pm before they got in their return bus.

As all except Ismail fell unconscious, criminals involved with the incident took away Tk 1.6 lakh from Hakim and all the money Niazuddin and the unidentified man had from the sale.

However, doctors found Tk 99,000 with Shajahan after the four were taken to the DMCH.

Meanwhile, Shamsul Alam, 35, and M Idris, 30, two iron traders of Comilla, were mugged on their way to English Road.

They fell unconscious after they ate pickles from a vendor in a bus of Utsab Enterprise at Demra at about 1:30pm.

The bus staff dropped them down at Sayedabad bus terminal at around 2:00pm, where English Road businessman Ratan identified them as his regular customers and admitted them to the DMCH.

Back to senses, Idris said he lost about Tk 1 lakh and Shamsul Tk 65,000.