Tax lawyer, son shot; mugged

Nazir Ahmed and Asif Ahmed

A father and his son knew little of the danger or the horror awaiting them as they headed out from their home yesterday morning to deposit money at a bank.
Income tax lawyer Nazir Ahmed, 55, and his son Asif Ahmed, 22, were shot and robbed of Tk 11 lakh in broad daylight yards from their home in Shantinagar in the capital.
“We only made a few yards from our home with the two bags of money. Three to four robbers showed up on motorbikes around 9:30am and shot my father in the leg and took the bag he was carrying,” said Asif in his hospital bed.
He said he tried to run away but a bullet fired from behind hit his right leg and he fell flat on his face. The gang then took the bag he was carrying and left on two motorbikes.
Nazir and Asif were whisked off to Dhaka Medical College Hospital by locals who heard the shots and screams. Nazir was later moved to National Institute of Traumatology, Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation in the capital where he is undergoing treatment.
Sub-Inspector Nurul Alam of Paltan Police Station quoting Nazir said Nazir and his son were taking around Tk 11 lakh stuffed into two bags to deposit the amount at a Sonali Bank branch in Motijheel.
He said the robbers probably had information beforehand about the amount being carried to the bank.
Nazir Ahmed filed a case with the Paltan Police Station last night in connection with the incident. Police said they carried out raids in several places but did not make any arrests until midnight.
In a similar mugging incident, a gang of four took Tk 3.76 lakh from an employee of a filling station at Jatrabari yesterday, police said.
Nazrul Islam, manager of Rana Petrol Pump, was carrying the money to deposit at a bank around 11:30am. The gang, on two motorbikes, stopped his motorbike and took the money at gunpoint, Nazrul claimed.
The gang members fired two shots in the air to clear their escape route.