A section of greedy drivers, who drive CNG-run auto-rickshaws on rental basis, are allegedly involved in hijacking the very vehicles they take lease on. These cunning auto-rickshaw drivers are earning huge amount of money in the name of returning the hijacked CNGs to the owners through a broker syndicate.
Anti-crime elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has unearthed one such gang of organised CNG hijackers after arresting its six members on Sunday night. RAB Media and Legal Wing Deputy Director Major Raisul Azam confirmed the arrests to Bangladesh Post on Monday. He said, getting secret information, a team of RAB-4 conducted an overnight drive and arrested the six CNG hijackers from different parts of the capital.
The arrestees had been identified as Md Harun-Or- Rashid, Md Ruhul Amin, Md Jamal Hossain, Md Shohel Kha, Waliullah Joy and Md Rashid Khan, said Major Raisul. RAB-4 Commanding Officer (CO) Chowdhury Monzurul Kabir said the RAB-4 team had seized a hijacked CNG and seven phone sets with SIM cards of various companies from the possession of the arrestees.
He informed that during primary interrogation, the arrestees had confessed that they snatch CNG in various ways and later take ransom from the owners for returning the hijacked CNGs. The senior RAB official said the hijackers take Tk 65,000 to Tk 1,00,000 from the CNG owners for returning every CNG applying different tactics.
According to RAB, some CNG drivers themselves are linked to CNG-hijacking syndicates. The drivers take lease on the auto-rickshaws on a daily basis. As per their plan to execute a hijacking drama, they keep the vehicles in secret garage. But they inform the CNG owners that they are admitted to hospital getting injured in the hands of hijackers. They say along with the CNG and their cellphones have been also hijacked.
Later, the broker groups communicate with the CNG owners using the phone of the drivers. They threaten to sell the CNG part by part, if their demanded money is not paid.
If the CNG owners pay the money, they keep the hijacked CNGs in a deserted area, RAB officials narrated. Meanwhile, one of the arrested CNG hijackers told RAB personnel that they first hire a CNG in guise of passengers. As per plan, they carry out an attack on the driver and forcibly drop the injured CNG driver in a lonely area and thus hijack the CNG. They keep the hijacked vehicle at a local garage.
Some other gangs use another method. Drivers usually wait for passengers in different spots in the capital. When the drivers attempt to take juice getting thirsty, members of the gang mix sedative medicine with the juice. Some other members of the same group then hire the CNG for a long distant destination. When the driver gets tranquilized after some time, the hijackers take control of the CNG. Dropping the driver in a lonely area, they hijack the CNG and the driver’s mobile phone.
At one stage, a broker syndicate starts negotiation with the CNG owners on behalf of the hijackers using the mobile phone of the driver. After getting money, they return the CNG to their original owners.
