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Serial muggers terrorise Mohammadpur

Residents panic-stricken as ‘patronised’ criminals evade arrest
SHAHEEN MOLLAH and MOHAMMAD JAMIL KHAN
The residents of Mohammadpur’s Beribadh area have been living with a growing sense of insecurity and fear over the last few months due to recurring robberies and muggings perpetrated mostly by teenage gangs.
Armed with sharp weapons, the gangs have adopted a brazen modus operandi: rob anyone and everyone in their path either by intimidation or attack.
At least four incidents of serial muggings and robberies were reported over the last 30 days.
Residents blamed lax police surveillance and their failure to apprehend the actual criminals.
They went on to allege that the criminals managed to evade arrest due to the protection they get from local politicians.
Sumon Khan, manager of a grocery shop in Beribadh, said, “We live in constant fear as muggings and robberies occur almost daily. We refrain from leaving our homes unless necessary.”
Sumon fell victim to an attack by a group of robbers on November 22. Around 6:00pm that day, five robbers entered Sumon’s shop and attempted to loot the cash box.
When Sumon resisted, he was attacked with a machete. He was injured in his left hand. Sumon had to undergo treatment at the hospital for a week.
He said, “The cash box contained Tk 1.14 lakh.”
When Sumon’s employer, Md Habib, first tried to file a case with Mohammadpur Police Station, he was turned away by the duty officer, who claimed to be busy and advised him to return a day later.
On November 23, police finally registered a case against unidentified robbers, although Sumon identified one of the suspects as “Chui Rakib”.
A month later, when asked about the progress in the investigation, Shofiul Alam, sub-inspector of Mohammadpur Police Station and also the investigating officer of the case, told this newspaper that they had identified some suspects but had not made any arrests.
“Tracking down the culprits proved difficult as they do not have any addresses and often appear suddenly and hide quickly,” he said.
Sumon was one of the two dozen individuals targeted on that fateful day. Armed with knives, machetes, and rods, the robbers targeted shops and pedestrians in Beribadh, according to witnesses.
The following day, on November 23, another serial mugging occurred in the same area around 7:00pm. The attackers, armed with machetes and knives, stole valuables from pedestrians.
The mugging sprees usually last 30-40 minutes.
One such incident took place on December
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