Police have arrested two local leaders belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, in connection with the robbery of gold jewellery in the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area of Dhaka. Officers also recovered 100 grams of the stolen gold during the operations.
The suspects have been identified as Al Amin Shanto, General Secretary of the Airport Thana Chhatra Dal, and Abdur Rauf, President of the Airport Unit BNP. A dedicated team from Airport Police Station rounded up the duo following separate drives conducted on Saturday night, 29 August, and Sunday evening, 30 August.
According to police sources, the enforcement drive was triggered by a criminal case registered on 29 August by Md Sumon, a resident of Raipura upazila in Narsingdi district. The lawsuit names four key suspects: Airport Unit BNP President Abdur Rauf, Airport Thana Chhatra Dal President Ripon, General Secretary Al-Amin Shanto, and Airport Ward BNP General Secretary Rubel.
Detailing the incident in the case statement, Sumon explained that his elder brother, Kawsar, an expatriate worker based in Malaysia, had sent 200 grams of gold jewellery home on 28 August for family use and an upcoming wedding for their sister. Sumon, accompanied by his friend Rohan Chowdhury, arrived near the airport around 8:00 pm that evening to collect the package from a contact designated by his brother.
After collecting the jewellery, the pair boarded a hired microbus and travelled to the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, alighting opposite the Balaka Bhaban building. The situation turned hostile the moment they stepped out of the vehicle.
A group of assailants immediately surrounded Sumon and his companion, physically assaulting them while levelling false accusations that they were involved with the Awami League and its student wing, Chhatra League, and claiming they were carrying explosives. Amid the chaos and intimidation, the gang snatched the entire 200 grams of gold jewellery from their possession. As local passers-by began gathering at the spot, the attackers fled the scene with the looted valuables.
Confirming the arrests, Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mirza Tariq Ahmed Bheg stated that investigators meticulously analysed Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage captured around the scene of the crime to identify and track down the perpetrators. The police managed to retrieve 100 grams of the stolen gold during the initial arrests.
Addressing questions regarding the suspects’ political affiliations, Mirza Tariq Ahmed emphasized that law enforcement officers are actively verifying their credentials. He maintained that political identity would provide no shield against prosecution, assuring that anyone implicated in criminal activities will be treated strictly as an offender under the law. Police operations remain ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects named in the case and recover the rest of the stolen jewellery.
