A truck carrying 12.24 tons of soybean oil was looted by men dressed as police officers in Savar’s Bank Town area on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in the early hours today (9 October).
The truck owner, Loknath Ghosh, said that the truck contained 60 drums of soybean oil, with a market value of approximately Tk19.5 lakh.
Loknath Ghosh, the owner of Bishwanath Traders in Nama Bazar, Savar, told The Business Standard that the truck was transporting the oil from Shobnom Oil Mill of TK Group in Dhaka’s Demra area to their warehouse in Namabazar.
Around 4:30am, when the truck reached Hemayetpur’s Alamnagar area, a man dressed in a police uniform flashed a torchlight and signaled the truck to stop. After questioning the driver about the truck’s contents, the man allowed them to continue. However, as the truck approached Bank Town Bridge, a Hiace microbus blocked its path.
The driver, Md Selim, recounted, “After the microbus blocked our path, a few men, including the one dressed as a policeman, pulled us out, assaulted us, and forced us into the microbus. They then tied our hands and covered our eyes before leaving us under a bridge in Sutipara, Dhamrai.”
Once the driver and his helper were freed, they contacted owner Loknath Ghosh, who immediately searched the Bank Town area but found no trace of the truck.
Savar Model police station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Jewel Mia confirmed the incident, saying, “The victims have come to the station, and we are investigating the matter. A case will be filed, and necessary legal actions are being taken.”
