The landlord of a car showroom along with around 50 people allegedly ransacked, looted Tk 26 lakh, and stole a multi-purpose vehicle from the car showroom at the city's Panthapath area yesterday afternoon.

They swooped on Nippon Autos Limited around 3:45pm and started ransacking the showroom. At one stage they pushed all the cars from the showroom to the road outside.

Locals rushed to the spot and managed to capture three alleged vandals including the landlord of the shop. Later police took them to Tejgaon Police Station for interrogation.

Mannan Chowdhury Khosru, one of the owners of Nippon Autos Limited, said, "When I reached the spot from a bank the vandals snatched Tk 26 lakh from me."

"They also stole a multi-purpose vehicle from the showroom," he added.

Sources in the Nippon Autos Limited said a few months ago the landlord of the showroom had an agreement with Nippon Autos Limited to sell the land to the car business at Tk 50 lakh. But later the landlord expressed his reluctance that led to a dispute between him and the owners of the car business.

"The rental contract of the showroom with Nippon Autos has expired and they are still not giving the possession of my land back. So, I went there to remind them to leave the shop soon," said Syedur Rahman, the landlord, denying allegations of ransacking, snatching and stealing the vehicle.