The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested 17 criminals and seized a huge quantity of contraband goods from their possession from various places in Dinajpur, Joypurhat and Bogra districts during the past 24 hours till on Thursday afternoon, RAB sources said.

The elite force rounded up six female members of an organised gang of inter-district drug traffickers and seized 130 bottles of smuggled phensidyl from Raniganj bus stand area in Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur while they were being boarded into a Bogra- bound bus at 10 this morning.

They are: Rahima Begum, 40, of village Luka, Monwara Begum, 30, of village Dihgirpar, Rowshan Ara, 55, of village Boyra and Anjuara Begum, 40, of village Shialnagar in Nababganj upazila of Dinajpur and Shahnaz Begum, 35, of Sutrapur area and Jolly Begum, 45, of Namajgarh area in Bogra town.

RAB picked up six members of an organised gang of inter- district dacoits with their gang leader and recovered six lifted cows from the house of Rekha Begum at village Teghora Dondapani under Sadar upazila in Joypurhat last night.

The arrested criminals are: gang leader Siddique, 48, of village Zatihar in Nababganj upazila, Anwar Hossain, 40, of village Boigram under Hakimpur upazila, Abdul Mannan, 30, of village Bamonpara under Ghoraghat upazila in Dinajpur and Ferdous Hossain, 29, of village Rukindipur in Akkelpur upazila and Rafikul Islam, 28, of village Pramanikpara in Sadar upazila of Joypurhat.

Six dacoity and robbery cases and several warrants for arrests are pending against gang leader Siddique with Nababganj police station alone in Dinajpur.

RAB also seized 56 pieces of smuggled Indian sarees from Rajshahi-bound Rocket mail train from Parbotipur at Joypurhat rail station in an abandoned condition on Thursday noon.

The elite force arrested five miscreants, who are involved in rapes and abductions, and rescued an adolescent from their clutches while they were taking her after abduction from village Ranirpara under Gabtoli upazila in Bogra on Wednesday afternoon.

The arrested criminals are: Sajib, 21, son of Abul Kashem, Mintu, 19, son of Babul Akand, Mahbub Hossain, 18, son of Fazlul Haque, Abul Kalam, 18, son of Abdul Bari of village Ranirpara and Hira, 19, son of late Edris Ali of nearby Moria village in Gabtoli upazila of Bogra.

RAB also picked up extortionist Rupchand, 35, of Fulbari Uttarapara area in Bogra town from Mohasthan point on the Rangpur-Bogra highway under Shibganj upazila of Bogra while he was engaged in realising extortion money from a Satkhira-bound bus, Soikat Paribahan, from Rangpur.

RAB seized a white touch stone statue weighing 35 kg and worth about Taka 1 crore from behind the house of Fazar Ali at village Jamalpur under Sahjahanpur police station of Bogra in an abandoned condition on Wednesday night.

After filing separate cases against the arrested criminals, RAB handed them over to the concerned police stations yesterday afternoon, the sources said.