Armed Gang Robs Pekua Home, Holding Family Hostage

An armed gang allegedly raided a house in Pekua, Cox’s Bazar, in the early hours of Monday, making residents hostage at gunpoint and fleeing with Tk 850,000 in cash and 17 bhori of gold jewellery.

The incident took place late on Sunday night (26 July) at Abd Hamid Sikdarpara in Pekua Sadar Union. The targeted residence belongs to Saudi expatriate Zamir Alam and his younger brother Rezaul Karim, who serves as the administrative officer and secretary of Matarbari Union Parishad in Maheshkhali upazila.

According to Rezaul Karim, the incident began after he left the house at night to check whether his motorcycle was still parked outside. He later sat with several people at a nearby shop. At around 3am, a white Hiace vehicle was seen travelling at high speed along the road. A short time later, three or four men approached them and asked about their identities.

Before they could understand what was happening, the men allegedly produced firearms, held three people hostage and tied them up with ropes inside a nearby furniture shop.

Rezaul said one of the attackers then held a weapon to his head and forced him to accompany them to his home. Once there, seven or eight masked members of the gang allegedly entered the house and confined all the family members to a single room. They reportedly threatened to shoot anyone who raised an alarm.

The gang then searched the house and carried out a prolonged robbery. According to the victims, the attackers took Tk 650,000 in cash and 10 bhori of gold jewellery from Rezaul’s room. They subsequently entered the room of his elder brother, Zamir Alam, and allegedly stole another Tk 250,000 and seven bhori of gold ornaments.

Rezaul’s wife, Tasfia Sultana Kajal, said her husband had left the house saying he was going to check on his motorcycle. Several hours later, he returned accompanied by seven or eight armed and masked men. The family members were confined to a room while the gang allegedly continued the robbery for around 40 minutes.

She added that the robbers took away the hard drive of the home’s closed-circuit television surveillance system before leaving, potentially removing an important source of evidence from the scene.

Amena Begum, wife of expatriate Zamir Alam, said the attackers threatened the family with death and forced them to hand over personal valuables. They allegedly removed her necklace and earrings before breaking open cupboards and drawers to take cash and jewellery.

The incident has caused fresh concern among residents in the area, who say security remains a major issue in the locality. A local resident, Tamim, claimed that about a year ago, another group of armed men had allegedly held residents hostage and stolen six cattle from two neighbouring houses.

Residents are now calling for swift action to identify and arrest those involved in the latest robbery. They have also urged the authorities to strengthen security measures in the area to prevent similar incidents.

Pekua Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mehedi Hasan said police visited the scene after receiving information about the robbery. He said efforts were under way to identify those involved and bring them to justice.