Carjackers tie with used-car dealers

DB catches 7 car thieves, killers; recovers a vehicle
A good number of used-car dealers in the capital are involved in trading stolen cars, Deputy Commissioner (south) of the Detective Branch of Police revealed yesterday.
He said some of around 50 carjacking gangs active in the city provide the so-called car showrooms with stolen cars.
DC Monirul Islam of DB said some of the carjacking gangs kill the drivers of the vehicles they rob so that law enforcers find it difficult to identify them.
DC Monir said, “During the last two-and-a-half years we arrested around 500 carjackers. We are now trying to identify the car dealers involved in trading stolen cars.”
DB police yesterday recovered a stolen microbus and arrested seven carjackers in connection with stealing it and killing its driver. They had killed its driver at Homna in Comilla on June 26, the arrestees told journalists.
The arrestees are Mohammad Rabin, 22, of Savar, Sajib Hossain, 22, of Shah Ali in Dhaka, Mahfuz, 30, of Mirpur, Ali Akbar, 35, of Shah Ali, Mohidul Islam of Mirpur, Rana, 31, owner of Platinum Autos at Paltan and his employee Shamim, 32.
The microbus belongs to Desh TV reporter Mohammad Shahid.
DC Monir said, “Acting on a tip off we arrested the carjackers and following the arrestees’ information we recovered the vehicle from Rana’s possession at Paltan. They [carjackers] killed the driver on their way back to Dhaka form Comilla and left the body at Titas [Gouripur] area beside the highway.”
DB sources said Rabin and Ali on June 26 afternoon rented the microbus for Tk 3,500 at Shah Ali to go to Robin’s father-in-law’s house at Homna in Comilla and they took their accomplices Sajib, Mahfuz and Mahidul from Shyamoli Technical area in the capital.
They started for Dhaka around 8:00pm and on the way they asked the driver of the microbus to stop at a market in Homna. Mahidul and Rabin bought some rope from the market and got back into the car.
They asked the driver to stop the car again at Gouripur area in Homna and strangled him with the rope. They left the body beside the highway, DB sources said.
Ali Akbar said, “We took the car to Shamim who was waiting near Jonaki Cinema Hall at Kakrail intersection and Shamim was supposed to sell the vehicle.
“We killed the driver so that later police could not trace us,” he said.

Courtesy of The Daily Star