Bank robbery bid foiled in Manikganj, two held

Police arrested two robbers when they were trying to commit robbery at Exim Bank Manikganj branch on Shahid Rafique Road in the district town on Friday night.

The arrestees are Arif Hossain, 40, son of Abdul Khalek of Char Matta in Manikganj municipality area, and Shahinur Rahman, 35, son of Sayeed Ali of Daulatpur village in Nawabganj upazila of Dhaka.

The robbers damaged 10 closed-circuit (CC) cameras and other valuables worth about Tk 5 lakh, said Bank Manager Nur Mohammad Ansary. 

Aminur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Manikganj Police Station, said Shahinur and his cohort Ali entered the bank by breaking open the grill of the window while Arif was waiting outside the bank around 7:00pm.

The duo unlocked the main gate of the vault and tried to open it to loot money.

At 10:46pm, the bank manager got signal by GPS, a software installed on his cellphone, and soon informed the OC about the robbery bid.

The law enforcers then rushed to the spot and the robbers blasted three cocktails, sensing the presence of the policemen, said Sub-Inspector Dipankar Roy.

In self defense, a policeman fired gunshots at them and arrested Arif and Shahinur. However, their other cohorts managed to flee the scene.

Shahinur was admitted to National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), Dhaka with bullet injuries in the right leg.

The bank manger filed a robbery case while the SI lodged a case against eight people, including the arrestees, under Explosives Substances Act.

Police are raiding different areas to arrest the other robbers, said Additional Superintendent of Police Jakir Hasan.