Petrol Pump Staff Robbed of Tk 12.125m in Uttara

A petrol pump employee was allegedly assaulted and robbed of Tk 12.125 million while travelling to a bank to deposit the day’s cash in Dhaka’s Uttara area, police said.

The incident took place at around 10.30am on Sunday on the Airport Road, in front of Crown Plaza. The money reportedly belonged to DL Petrol Pump in Uttara. Police said several people allegedly involved in the robbery have already been identified and efforts are under way to arrest them.

According to a case filed with Airport Police Station, the petrol pump’s assistant manager, Mohammad Al Amin, was travelling with CNG operator Selimuzzaman and covered-van driver Khorshed to deposit the cash at Pubali Bank in Sector 1 of Uttara.

The three were carrying a bag containing Tk 12.125 million when their vehicle was intercepted by a group of six to seven people travelling on three motorcycles. The alleged robbers reportedly stopped the covered van, threatened the occupants at gunpoint and attacked Al Amin with a machete before taking the bag of cash.

The group then fled towards Abdullahpur on motorcycles, according to the complaint.

Al Amin sustained injuries in the attack. After the incident, Selimuzzaman and Khorshed, assisted by people nearby, took him to Bangladesh–Kuwait Maitree Hospital for treatment.

Abdul Karim, manager of DL Petrol Pump, filed the case against six to seven unidentified individuals, said Kamrul Hasan Talukder, officer-in-charge of Airport Police Station. The case alleges that the stolen Tk 12.125 million belonged to the petrol pump.

Investigators are examining how the robbers obtained information about the movement of such a large amount of cash. Officials involved in the investigation suspect that the attackers may have known that the petrol pump’s employees regularly travelled to the bank at roughly the same time each day. Police are looking into whether the suspects had prior information about the cash transfer and whether anyone provided them with details of the employees’ routine.

The incident has also drawn attention to the risks involved in transporting large amounts of business cash by road. Regular and predictable cash movements can potentially expose employees to robbery, particularly when substantial sums are carried without varying the timing or route.

The owner of DL Petrol Pump in Uttara is Tasneem Akhtar Haque, according to the report. His mother, the late Khurshid Jahan Haque, was the elder sister of former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Tareq Ahmed Beg, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Uttara Division, said several individuals suspected of involvement in the robbery had been identified. Police are continuing efforts to locate and arrest them.

Investigators are expected to examine CCTV footage from the area, the movements of the motorcycles and the circumstances surrounding the cash transfer as part of the inquiry. The police investigation will also seek to establish how the alleged attackers obtained information about the timing and movement of the money.