Savar model police station on early Tuesday finally recorded the case following the sensational robbery incident that took place on a moving passenger bus on January 14, confirmed Mominul Islam, Inspector of Savar model police station. "We are investigating the issue, as well as trying to identify and nab the involved", he said.
Md. Pavel, the robbed bus's driver and the case's plaintiff, said he thanked police for recording the case and urged concerned to take the necessary steps to stop such harassment of victims in the future.
According to the case statement, on Friday afternoon, the passenger bus of Sonar Tori Paribahan started its journey from Bogura district to Dhaka with 35 passengers. In the midway, 7 robbers boarded the bus posed as a passenger, who later looted cash and valuables from the bus passengers, hosting all at gunpoint. "They started the robbery at Savar’s Genda area and released us and left the bus on early Friday at Mirzapur, Tangail area", Pavel, the bus driver said.
Meanwhile, the bus driver alleged that after the incident took place, he informed the police through 999, and Mirzapur police asked him to file a case over the issues with Savar police station, as the robbery process started in Savar. But later, Savar model police also refused to record the case, showing excuses that the robbers boarded the bus from Mirzapur area, no matter where the process began.
Several media outlets later runs report on the issue when the tug of war between the police regarding to record the case comes to light, causing a sensation among mass people.
Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan, a lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court said if any criminal offense is carried out under multiple police stations as it started under a police station area but ends under other police station areas; in such cases, any of those stations can record the case.
Abdullahel Kafee, Additional Superintendent (Crime) of Dhaka Zila police, told The Bangladesh Post, "There is no scope to raise any question over the matter as the robbery process begins from Mirzapur and ends there. The bus just turned once in Savar during the robbery, besides a case has already filed with Mirzapur police station over the matter. However, we also received the case on the same issue, despite a case filed over the matter with a different station.
On the other hand, Abdullahel Kafee claimed another case was filed with Mirzapur police station on the same issue, but Md. Alom Chad, OC of Mirzapur police station, said they did not record any case over the issue, but a case was filed with his station on a different robbery incident.
"The case that was filed with our station regarding robbing an oil track on the same night, but it was a different issue, even we don’t know yet whether the same robbers gang was involved in both incidents. Moreover, there is no scope to file multiple cases over the same issue", he added.