In a span of 16 hours – from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon – bandits robbed two branches of Sonali Bank and one of Krishi Bank in Bandarban, while thieves stole money from an Islami Bank branch in Kushtia.

Robbers kidnapped Najam Uddin, manager of Sonali Bank branch in Bandarban’s Ruma upazila, during the robbery on Tuesday night.

Authorities could not confirm the total amount of money looted from the banks. Law enforcement agencies are conducting drives to arrest those involved in the robberies, said sources.

Following the bank robberies in Bandarban, operations of all the banks in six upazilas of the district except Sadar upazila have been suspended.

Army and police patrols have been strengthened in those upazilas. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun visited the scene in Ruma on Wednesday. He said stern action will be taken against those who were involved in the bank robberies.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said armed group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) is involved in the robberies in Bandarban.

Md Mezbaul Haque, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and executive director, said the activities of the bank’s branches in the Bandarban area will be run as directives of the local administration.

The administration will give directions considering the situation, he added.

How the robbery happened

A group of armed criminals attacked the upazila parishad office and a branch of Sonali Bank in Bandarban’s Ruma upazila at 9pm on Tuesday, looting cash and 14 firearms. At this time, they kidnapped the bank’s branch manager, Najam Uddin.

Chairman of Ruma Sadar union parishad Sai Bang Marma said more than a hundred members of the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), known as the Bawm Party in the hills, were involved in the attack.

At the time of the incident, Najam Uddin was praying in a nearby mosque. Upon hearing about the chaos in the bank, he rushed to the scene, says an eyewitness.

Then, the armed group members were seen engaging in a confrontation with the bank security personnel. Later, they kidnapped Najam Uddin.

Mohammad Osman Gani, regional director of Sonali Bank in Bandarban, said there was supposed to be around Tk1.6 crore in the Ruma branch.

“They broke open the vaults and stole the money. Following the incident, security has been heightened across all branches of the bank in the area,” he added.

No money was looted from Sonali Bank’s Ruma branch and the money in the bank’s vault remained intact, said Shahnewaj Khaled, the special superintendent of police of CID Chattogram region.

A day after the robbery at Sonali Bank in Ruma, another robbery took place at the Sonali Bank and Bangladesh Krishi Bank branches in the urban area of Thanchi upazila at 1:00pm on Wednesday.

Thanchi Sadar union parishad Chairman Ong Pro Mro said that around 1:00pm, a group of armed men arrived from the direction of Shahjahanpur and started firing shots while entering the market area.

He said, “They entered the Sonali Bank and Bangladesh Krishi Bank branches adjacent to Thanchi High School and took away cash kept there. Then they fled by the same three vehicles.”

Hla Sui Thoe, branch manager of the Krishi Bank branch in Thanchi, said, “They held everyone hostage at gunpoint when they entered our bank. Then they took everyone to a room and locked them up outside.”

A five-member team of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) from Cox’s Bazar visited Ruma on Wednesday afternoon to investigate the bank robbery and terrorist attack.

Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban Shah Mujahid Uddin, Additional DIG of Chattogram Range Mahfuzur Rahman and Police Superintendent of Bandarban Saikat Shaheen also visited the spot.

However, they did not say anything about how much money was lost from Ruma’s Sonali Bank vault.

Shah Mujahid Uddin said several teams of security forces are conducting operations to rescue the kidnapped bank manager, Najam Uddin.

Thanchi Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mohammad Mamun told the Daily Sun that the armed terrorists came to Thanchi Bazar and looted money from the Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank branches.

“Around Tk14-Tk15 lakh was taken away from clients of Sonali Bank while Tk2.45 lakh from the Krishi Bank branch,” he said.

Bandarban District Superintendent of Police Saikat Shaheen said there were 10 firearms, including eight Chinese rifles and two SMGs, at the cops posted for security of the bank.

The firearms and 280 rounds of bullets were looted at that time, he said, adding that two shotguns and 34 rounds of bullets of Ansar men were also taken away.

The members of the crime scene unit of police will collect the evidence and fingerprints for the next course of action, the SP said.

Shahnewaj Khaled said two CID teams from Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar visited the spot and collected evidence from the branch.

Md Afzal Karim, CEO and managing director of Sonali Bank, said Sonali Bank is maintaining continuous communication with local administration and law enforcement agencies.

“The situation regarding the money looted from the Ruma branch is unclear. Some money has been stolen from the bank’s cash counter, but the exact amount is yet to be confirmed. Efforts are underway to ascertain the sum through bank employees. Sonali Bank will form a dedicated investigation committee.”

Vengeful robbery was announced beforehand!

Following the arrest of two of its members by the army, the armed organisation KNF declared its intent for retaliation in a Facebook post.

According to a Facebook post by the Kuki-Chin National Front on 12 March, “The Bangladesh Army has violated the agreement by apprehending two innocent members of the Bawm community, Lalmuanam Bawm of Gilgal, and Ramnuam Bawm of Dunibar Para. If the harassment of innocent individuals is not ceased, appropriate action will be taken.”

The announcement was attributed to Captain Fleming who oversees the organisation’s information and intelligence branch.

KNF initiated armed operations in Bandarban in mid-2022. Law enforcement officials previously revealed that members of Jamaat-ul-Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, a new militant group in the plains, received armed training at their hideout in the hills.

Last year, law enforcement forces raided the hideout and apprehended several members of Jamaatul Ansar Phil Hindal Sharqiya and KNF.

In May of last year, a peace establishment committee, led by Zilla Parishad Chairman Kyashihla Marma, was formed to reintegrate KNF members into society. Since then, the committee has been engaged in dialogue with KNF.

The second round of dialogue between the peace establishment committee and KNF took place on 5 March at the Bethelpara Community Centre in Ruma upazila. The third round of dialogue was scheduled to occur later this month.

During the 5 March dialogue, KNF pledged to refrain from further terrorist activities. However, locals have complained that even after this dialogue, KNF members have stationed themselves in various neighbourhoods, including Bethelpara, Munlaipara, and Edenpara of the Bam community near Ruma Sadar upazila.

IBBL agent banking office looted in Kushtia

Apart from the bank robbery in the hilly district of Bandarban, unidentified miscreants had looted money from an agent banking outlet of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL) in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia on Tuesday midnight.

Breaking the vault, the robbers looted Tk5.27 lakh from the agent banking office which is located at Alauddin Nagar in the upazila, said Shamsul Alam, in-charge of the agent banking outlet.

He informed police that the muggers cut the grill of the office window and entered the office room. Then they broke the vault and took away the money.  They also stole computers, CCTV cameras and other devices from the office.

Shamsul said he finished the work on the previous day and left after locking the office. The matter came to their attention after he opened the office on Wednesday morning. There are three employees there.

The agent branch is under the control of the IBBL Kumarkhali branch.

Azizul Islam, first assistant vice president of IBBL Kumarkhali branch, said the place where the banking activities were run was safe enough. “Let us investigate how the incident happened,” he said.

Zainul Abedin, senior vice president of Islami Bank’s Kushtia branch, said this was an unexpected incident. Higher authorities as well as police were informed of the matter, he added.

He also said if the authorities give instructions, an investigation committee would be formed to unearth the original fact.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kumarkhali Police Station Akibul Islam said he already visited the spot. “The entire matter is being investigated. Details will be given after the investigation is completed,” he told the media.

KNF involved in Bandarban’s robbery: Home minister

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said separatist  outfit Kuki-Chin National Front was found involved in bank robberies in Ruma and Thanchi upazilas of Bandarban.

“Kuki-Chin was involved in bank robbery and firearms looting. They also hit police constables, bank guards and Ansar members,” he told reporters at his office at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

The minister, however, stated that detailed information in this regard was yet to be available.

“Firstly, they switched off the electricity substation and then started looting valuables and firearms. Later, they abducted the local Sonali Bank manager when he was performing Tarabih prayers,” he said.

The minister said police and BGB started conducting drives immediately after the incident.

“We will do everything needed to bring the situation under control. The police and BGB have been carrying out their duties. If necessary, Bangladesh Army will also join the operation against Kuki-Chin and other militant outfits,” he stated.