Armed assailants yesterday morning intercepted a cash-carrying vehicle, hacked a filling station official and robbed Tk 1.21 crore in Dhaka’s airport area.
The victim was identified as Mohammad Al Amin, 49, assistant manager of DL Filling Station in Uttara.
Following the incident, Md Abdul Karim, manager of the filling station, filed a case with Airport Police Station, accusing six to seven unidentified men.
According to the case statement, Al Amin left the station in a covered van around 10:25am to deposit Tk 1,21,25,000 in cash at a Pubali Bank branch in Uttara. He was accompanied by Selimuzzaman, 40, and the vehicle’s driver, Md Khorshed, 43.
Around 10:30am, six to seven armed men, aged 30-35, on three motorcycles intercepted the vehicle in front of Crowne Plaza on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway under Airport Police Station.
As Al Amin refused to hand over the bag containing the cash, one of the assailants allegedly held a pistol to his chest while another repeatedly hacked him with a machete, injuring his left elbow, left palm and left leg.
The assailants snatched the khaki-coloured bag and fled towards Abdullahpur on motorcycles.
Contacted, Al Amin said he later received treatment at Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital.
Abdul Karim said transporting cash to the bank was part of their regular operation. “We deposit money five days a week. We don’t suspect any of our employees,” he said.
Police, Rab and the Detective Branch have launched a coordinated investigation into the incident, said Kamrul Hasan, officer-in-charge of Airport Police Station.
“We have collected CCTV footage from the crime scene. Drives are underway to identify and arrest those involved,” he added.