Abducted Sonali Bank manager rescued in Bandarban

No customers at Thanchi Bazar a day after bank robberies

FE Team | Published: April 04, 2024 23:46:39

The abducted manager of Sonali Bank's Ruma branch in Bandarban was rescued through mediation of the Rapid Action Battalion on Thursday, reports UNB.
The bank manager, Nizam Uddin, was rescued on Thursday, confirmed ASP Imran Khan of RAB headquarters media wing.
Earlier in the day, Nizam Uddin's wife, Nazmul Nahar, said the armed separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) had demanded Tk 1.5 million from his family as ransom.
Nahar, a teacher of Bandarban Cantonment Public School and College, revealed it to the media shortly after she had received a phone call from the KNF.
A group of armed robbers looted the Thanchi branches of the Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Sonali Bank around 12:30pm on Wednesday. They took Tk 208,000 from Krishi Bank and Tk 1,500,000 from Sonali Bank.
The robbers also opened fire near the banks to spread panic among the locals during the heist.
Before that, on Tuesday, over 100 men attacked the Sonali Bank branch in Ruma Upazila's Sadar area. As many as 20 people, including bank officials and security personnel, were assaulted, and the branch's manager, Nezam Uddin, was kidnapped.
Earlier in a press conference at the conference room of Bandarban District Council on Thursday morning, its chairman Kyaw Shwe Hla refused to hold any discussion with the KNF until it released the abducted bank manager, returned looted 14 arms, money and stopped all kinds of criminal activities.
Kyaw Shwe, also president of the district peace committee, said a view-exchange meeting with the participation of representatives from several groups to facilitate KNF members' return to normal life was held on May 29 last year.
On June 30, an 18-member peace committee was formed in coordination with the local leaders. Later several virtual meetings between the peace committee and the KNF were held to bring back peace in the district, he said.
On November 5 last year and March 5 this year, a couple of in-person dialogues with the group were held and two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed when KNF assured that it would suspend all armed activities, he informed.
However, banking activities of Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Sonali Bank in the district's Thanchi upazila branch had remained suspended since Wednesday.
In Ruma and Rowangchhari upazilas, activities of Krishi Bank remained normal while that of Sonali Bank remained suspended.
Bdnews24.com adds: The armed bank robberies in Bandarban's Thanchi have spurred fear among the locals and streets seemed empty one day after the attack.
The shops opened on Thursday morning in Thanchi Sadar Upazila, but foot traffic was minimal in the marketplace area.
According to Jashim Uddin, the general secretary of the Thanchi Traders Association, shops were closed on Wednesday as people were scared to step outside of their homes following the attacks.
"Apart from the pharmacies, all other stores were closed," he told the media.
"The shops have finally opened today, but the streets are still empty," he added.