STAR REPORT

It was around 12:30pm. Bandarban’s Thanchi Bazar was abuzz with people as it was the weekly haat yesterday.

Out of nowhere, three chander garis (human hauliers) arrived there carrying dozens of armed men clad in tactical gear. There, they joined an armed group that was already in the market area, according to witnesses.

Divided in two groups, the armed men stormed two branches of Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank, located within about 10 feet, near Thanchi High School, brandishing weapons and asking people not to move.

Inside the banks, some of the gang members started looking for the managers, while others started looting money from the cash counters. Within 20 minutes or so, they made off with around Tk 17 lakh from the two banks, according to officials and customers.

The daring robbery took place less than 16 hours after a similar incident at the Sonali Bank branch in Ruma, also in Bandarban, about 100km from Thanchi. Although no money was reported being looted from that branch, the attackers kidnapped the branch manager, who remains missing since.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed group in the Hill Tracts, was involved in the robberies.

“Kuki Chin was involved in the bank robbery and firearms looting. They also hit police constables, ansar members and security personnel of the bank,” he told journalists at his ministry office in Dhaka yesterday.

More detailed information about the robbers is not yet available, he said.

THE ROBBERIES

The two branches of Sonali and Krishi banks are located at the heart of Thanchi upazila, and both police and BGB have camps within 100 meters of the two banks in Thanchi Bazar. The area is almost always crowded as parking areas for CNG-run autorickshaws, human hauliers and bikes are also located there.

Hai Mong Marma, a teacher at Thanchi Govt Primary School, was inside the Sonali Bank when the robbery happened.

“Some 15 people carrying arms barged into the bank and asked everyone to put their hands up at gunpoint while they emptied the cash counter and stuffed the money in sacks,” he said.

Preferring anonymity, another bank customer said the gang swiftly took everyone hostage upon entering the bank. “They confiscated all belongings and locked us in a room before fleeing.”

Members of the gang also took position at different points of the bazaar to deal with any possible threat, witnesses said.

They said the area turned empty after the robbers fired shots in the air as customers and traders ran for their life, leaving their shops open.

Aongsing Marma, a local, said the armed men arrived in three vehicles from the south side, namely TNT Para, Chandak and Saizan Bom Para.

The group members who were already in the market area then brandished weapons and asked everyone to keep their mouth shut and close their shops.

After the robbery, they fired shots in the air, creating panic. They left the area in four human hauliers that drove towards TNT Para, Chandak, and Sahjanpara, witnesses said.

Osman Gani, deputy manager of Sonali Bank’s Bandarban district, said their branch offices in six upazilas, except for the one in the district headquarters, have been temporarily closed down in the wake of the robbery spree in the hills.

He added that the branches will reopen once normalcy returned.

“We have learned that the group looted Tk 15 lakh from Sonali They

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