Bank looters kill 7 in Bangladesh

A daring bank heist turned bloody yesterday when robbers shot dead seven people in Ashulia Industrial Area on the outskirts of the capital. 

An angry mob later beat to death one of the robbers while they were fleeing with about Tk 35 lakh in broad daylight. 
Locals also handed another robber over to the police, while the rest managed to flee. Cops later on caught yet another member of the gang, said Mostafa Kamal, officer-in-charge of Ashulia police. 

Police also recovered Tk 5.94 lakh from the two -- Borhan Uddin and Saiful Islam, said the bank's senior vice president.  

At least 25 others -- officials, clients and locals -- were injured as the gang of 8-10 opened fire, hurled bombs and attacked them with sharp weapons during the heist and the escape. 

Of the wounded, 13 of them bullet-hit, 20 were admitted to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar, said Anwar Kader Nazim, the hospital director.  

Those killed by the robbers inside the bank are Waliullah Subin, 40, the branch manger of Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited, its security guards Ibrahim and Kazi Badrul Alam, and bank client Shahabuddin Mollah Palash, 50.

Nur Mohammad, 45, Monir Hossain, 32, and Jamir Ali, 26, died of bullet and bomb injuries they sustained while chasing the gang.
The identity of the victim robber could not be known.

Five of the gang entered the bank's Kathgora Bazar branch in two groups brandishing firearms around 2:00pm, soon after the launch break. Once inside, they took 15 bank officials and clients hostage at gunpoint and asked everyone else to lie down on the floor, said hospital sources, quoting injured bank officials.

When they asked the manager to hand over the volt keys to them, he tried to run away. But the robbers shot him, killing him instantly, said Mustafizur Rahman, owner of the building that houses the bank, quoting bank officials and clients.

Hearing the gunshots, someone sought help using the loudspeaker of the mosque opposite the bank when several hundred locals rushed to the spot. 

The robbers, aged between 25 and 40, blasted several powerful bombs and crude bombs to create panic, as locals chased them. Some of the robbers fled on foot while others tried to escape on three motorbikes. 

Locals chased three robbers on one bike and beat one of them dead and handed another over to the cops.
Police and Rapid Action Battalion members reached the spot about an hour after the incident.

An official of Rab's bomb disposal unit said they recovered three unexploded powerful bombs and two improvised hand grenades from the spot. They had to blast one grenade as it was in an unsafe condition.

Police were collecting evidence of the incident and the process of filing a case was underway. 
Selim Hasan, senior vice-president of the bank, said the gang took away about Tk 35 lakh from the cash counter. 
But they failed to break the volt, said Managing Director Abu Sadek Md Sohel.  
During the heist, one armed guard was at the entrance and two others were inside the bank, he added.

Mamun, a local youth, said the gang parked their bikes near the Kathgora Bazar, some 200 yards from the bank. They then walked to the bank.

The bank is located on the first floor of the three-storey Hazi Nojumuddin Market in an alley known as Mosjider Goli. 
The ground floor of the market houses about 30 shops and the first floor is rented out for the bank and a buying house. The third floor is still under construction.

The bank managing director said police were examining footage from the bank's eight CCTV cameras to identify the robbers.
The branch opened in December last year and its main clients are local businessmen and traders.

'KILLED TRYING TO SAVE LIFE' 
Shahabuddin Mollah Palash, one of the victims, was in the manager's room when the robbers entered the bank.
Originally from Jhenidah, he had been running business at Kathgora for many years, said his friend Syed Yusuf Mahmood Ali.  
When the robbers opened fire on the manager, he tried to grab them. Challenged, the looters opened fire on him as well, hitting him several times in the chest and hands, Yusuf said quoting witnesses.

“He was very dauntless and never hesitated to take risk for saving others. But he had to give his life for his bravery,” he added.
[Our Savar correspondent contributed to this report.]