Aggyan Party members active in city

The number of mugging incidents rose alarmingly in the last several days as Aggyan Party members became active ahead of Eid.
Also, petty crimes marked a rise in launch and bus terminals in the city.
A total of 23 people fell victim to Aggyan Party members, who drug people before robbing them, in the last three days. All of them were in unconscious state when they were brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) from different city places.
Meanwhile, car lifters took away two taxicabs after killing the drivers in separate incidents at Pallabi and Ashulia in the last three days. The drivers -- Shamim, 35, of Ashulia and Nuruzzaman, 30 of Pallabi -- were stabbed to death.
Home-bound passengers also fell victim to petty crimes in the city bus and launch terminals as several hundred hoodlums posing as porters are engaged in stealing valuables from them, sources in the terminals said.
DMCH sources said that on an average, around 10 victims of the Aggyan Party come to hospital every day. The figure was two only a week ago.
Small traders, students, day labourers and drivers are among the people hospitalised in the last few days.
The gang members took away valuables from the victims after making them unconscious by offering foods mixed with sedatives. In some cases, they make victims inhale something which has a sedative effect.
Talking to The Daily Star, Prince Mohammad, an honours final year student of Tejgaon College, said he himself fell victim to such gang members on Wednesday. He became unconscious after drinking mango juice offered by a fellow launch passenger.
Both of them came to Dhaka from Barisal in a launch, he said. The man offered a juice pack on their way to Farmgate from Sadar Ghat launch terminal at around 6:00am on Wednesday.
"We are travelling in a rickshaw. When the rickshaw reached the High Court area, he offered me a juice pack. Soon after I drank the juice, I realised that the man belongs to Aggyan Party. I then jumped from the rickshaw and started running, but soon I became unconscious and collapsed," he said.
"When I came round, I found myself in the DMCH and the hospital staffs told me that the police brought me here," he said.
Julhash, 22, a construction worker, is another victim of the Aggyan Party members. He became unconscious after having soft drink offered by an unknown person at BDR cinema in Pilkhana at around 1:30pm on Wednesday.
Habib, a shoe trader of Dohar, was brought to DMCH in an unconscious state by shop employees at Fulbaria Supper Market at Dhaka on Tuesday night.
Relatives said Habib was coming to Dhaka to purchase shoes for his shop but became unconscious in a minibus.
They also said the culprits took away Tk one lakh from Habib.
Walid Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Public Relations), told The Daily Star that the gangs became active as more and more people are coming out of home ahead of Eid.
The police, however, are keeping a close eye on them, he added.
He also said the police have arrested 12 members of the Aggyan party on Tuesday.