Staff Reporter: Armed criminals robbed branches of Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank in Bandarban’s Thanchi upazila today (Wednesday) and plundered more than Tk 20 lakh around noon, less than 16 hours after another bank robbery in the district’s Ruma upazila.
This incident took place in the upazila’s Thanchi Bazar area around 12:30pm, Thanchi Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Mamun told journalists.
Witnesses said, once inside the banks, the robbers seized the weapons of the security personnel and broke all the CCTV cameras, people who were inside the bank said. They then took cash from the counters and from the customers who had just made withdrawals from their accounts .
They took around Tk 15 lakh from the Sonali Bank branch, and around Tk 5-7 lakh from Krishi Bank, the UNO said around 2:00pm. The robbers fired rounds inside the branches.
Around 50-60 men dressed in camouflage came to the area around 11:30am, and started taking mobile phones of the people present there, said locals.
Then around 12:30pm, 15-20 of the armed men entered each bank branch, while 15-20 more were positioned at the nearby Sangu Bridge. All of them then left the area less than 10 minutes after the robbers entered the banks.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday late night, armed criminals stormed the Bandarban’s Ruma upazila parishad complex last night, disarmed security personnel and took their firearms, robbed the the Sonali Bank branch there, and abducted bank manager Nezam Uddin.
Weapons of police and Ansar members responsible for the security of the bank and other establishments inside the complex were taken, Ruma Upazila Nirbahi Officer (acting) Didarul Alam told journalists.
Didarul said a large group of suspected armed members of Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) surrounded the upazila parishad complex during Taraweeh prayers around 8:30pm.
They entered the mosque, assaulted people, took away the mobile phones of all police and Ansar members.
The attackers forced the bank employees, who were inside the mosque, to open the vault of the bank which is inside the upazila parishad complex. They left the area half an hour later with money from the vault, Didarul said.
Sources said the attackers took Nezam with them when they left.
Upazila Chairman U Hla Ching Marma said quoting the witnesses that number of KNF members surrounded the area during Taraweeh prayers, took away the mobile phones of the police and Ansar members and abducted Nezam.
Osman Gani, Deputy Manager of Sonali Bank’s Bandarban branch, said the Ruma branch had received a shipment of fresh bank notes on Monday.
