Police arrest muggers responsible for death of woman in Mugda

Police yesterday arrested four people, who are responsible for the death of a woman after falling from a rickshaw during mugging in the capital's Mugda on February 29.

Detectives arrested the four in Mugda Stadium area early yesterday, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch (east) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star.

The arrestees are Mizuan Mia (29), Sheikh Liton (38), Abdul Majid (33) and Rafiq Hawlader (42). Police seized a firearm, one round of bullet, two knives, two private cars,  and some cash from their possession.

Of them, Mizuan gave confessional statement to a Dhaka court yesterday.

Mizuan came to the capital 15 years back, but joined hands with Majid five years ago and formed a gang.

Mizuan and one Mona used to take cars from Liton. Mona drove car while Mizuan snatched people's bags and valuables from the moving vehicle.

Liton called Mizaun on February 28 and told him to come to Shahjahanpur at night. On arrival, he saw Mona and Liton with the car. Mizuan and Mona started moving on the city street looking for a prey. Early in the morning, they found Tarina Begum Lipi on the rickshaw with her son in Mugda area.

"Our car intercepted the rickshaw, and I snatched her bag," Mizuan told the court, adding that they got a cellphone and Tk 2,000 in her purse. Lipi (38), who then fell from the rickshaw, died hours later in a hospital from head injury.

Hailing from Sylhet's Sadar upazila, her family members came to Dhaka on February 24 to visit their relatives in South Rajarbagh. The incident happened around 5:30am while Lipi and her family members were going to Kamalapur Railway Station to board a train to Sylhet.

When her rickshaw was crossing Mugda stadium, a mugger from inside a white car pulled Lipi's bag so hard that she fell onto the road and suffered a head injury.

Police said the gang continued their notorious activities, and robbed one in Mirpur the same day.

The arrestees are accused in eight mugging cases, police said, adding that efforts are on to arrest gang leader Mona.

Police said several groups of muggers in the capital roam the streets, mostly near midnight and early morning. Most of their victims are pedestrians or people on rickshaws, officials said.

According to DMP, some 900 mugging cases were filed with different police stations in the capital in the last five years. Officials said many more instances of mugging had not been reported during the period.