Police in Savar have launched a manhunt following a brazen daytime robbery in which assailants posing as Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officers made off with 2.6 million taka. The attack targeted an employee of a local enterprise who had just withdrawn the substantial sum from a commercial bank in the Hemayetpur area.
The incident occurred on Thursday morning along the busy Dhaka-Aricha highway. Rezaul Karim, the proprietor of RK Enterprise located in East Hati Uttarpara, instructed his employee, 38-year-old Israfil Haq, to retrieve cash for business operations. After withdrawing the money from a private bank at around 11:00 am, Israfil attempted to cross the highway from the southern lane towards the northern side near the Hemayetpur bus stand.
As he reached the road, a private car pulled up abruptly. Four men aged between 30 and 35 emerged from the vehicle, wearing jackets designed to mimic official RAB uniforms. Brandishing local weapons, the gang surrounded Israfil, identified themselves as law enforcement officers, and demanded the bag containing the funds. When the employee resisted, the assailants violently struck him with iron rods, seized the cash, and sped off in their vehicle towards Savar.
Rezaul Karim formally lodged a case on Friday afternoon at Savar Model Police Station against four unidentified individuals. Incident reports highlight growing concerns over organised gangs utilizing counterfeit elite force uniforms, fake law enforcement badges, and private cars equipped with sirens or tinted glass to intercept high-value cash transfers near major financial hubs. Highway corridors such as Dhaka-Aricha have historically seen targeted surveillance operations by local police to deter such opportunistic crimes.
Saiful Alam, Officer-in-Charge of Savar Model Police Station, confirmed that a case has been registered. Investigating officers are reviewing local surveillance footage, mapping the movement of suspicious vehicles in the area, and tracking potential escape routes to identify and detain those responsible for the assault.
