Youth caught after brandishing ‘toy pistol’ in Panthapath

A youth brandishing a toy pistol in broad daylight in Dhaka's Panthapath area was caught by bystanders and police this afternoon.

The incident took place around 2:30pm.

The detainee, an eighteen-year-old from Mohammadpur, claimed to be a student of Bangladesh University.

Bystanders and the police, initially, thought the firearm may be real, but the detainee insisted that the firearm was a toy and that he used it to commit theft because he needed money.

Kalabagan Police Station Officer-in-Charge Moktaruzzaman later confirmed to The Daily Star it was a toy pistol which looked realistic. A case was underway to be filed, he said.

Describing the incident, Rajib Gain, assistant commissioner (traffic) of the Dhanmondi Zone, said a youth named Shahadat and his friends were praying at a mosque inside SIBL Foundation Hospital near Panthapath when they noticed that a pair of shoes had gone missing. Upon reviewing CCTV footage, they spotted a young man as the suspect.

When they stepped outside, they saw a youth resembling the person in the footage and confronted him. At that moment, the suspect pulled a pistol from his waist, causing them to step back in fear.

Meanwhile, a man passing by on a rickshaw with his child saw the youth brandishing the pistol and immediately shouted "Mugger!" in alarm.

As panic spread, the suspect attempted to flee towards the Panthapath Traffic Police Box, where sub-inspector Khabir Hossain of the Traffic Police intercepted him.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Khabir said he was issuing traffic violation tickets when he noticed bystanders trying to detain the youth with the pistol.

"I intervened and tried to restrain him, but he resisted and refused to let go of the weapon. Locals attempted to beat him, and in the scuffle, I was also struck a few times," Khabir said.

He was taken to the Panthapath Traffic Police Box before being handed over to Kalabagan Police Station.