DE News Desk :
A second reported bus robbery in just over three months has shaken travelers along the Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Bridge Highway, as armed robbers hijacked a northbound bus and looted passengers over a six-hour ordeal late Tuesday night into early Wednesday.
According to passengers and staff, the bus—operated by Al Imran Paribahan and en route to Rangpur—departed from Abdullahpur in Dhaka at around 8:00pm.
The vehicle, carrying 45 passengers including at least 10 women, was taken over by a group of robbers disguised as passengers after crossing Elenga in Kalihati upazila around 11:30pm.
“They blindfolded the driver, the helper, and all the passengers,” said Atiqur Rahman, the driver’s assistant.
“Then they turned the bus around and kept driving between Tangail and the Chandra-Ashulia area multiple times.”
During the robbery, which reportedly continued until 5:30am, the perpetrators looted mobile phones, cash, gold jewelry, and other valuables from all passengers.
Some passengers also alleged that female travelers were subjected to sexual harassment while being searched by the robbers.
Driver Abed Ali confirmed that the bus was eventually abandoned in the Shibpur area of Tangail city bypass road after the robbers fled.
Passenger Jewel Mia from Adamdighi, Bogura, expressed outrage over the treatment of female passengers, emphasizing the psychological trauma inflicted during the prolonged incident.
This brazen attack follows a similar robbery reported on the same highway on February 17, raising serious concerns over the safety of long-haul road travel on this route.
Tangail Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Tanbir Ahmed said a case is in the process of being filed and law enforcement has already begun efforts to identify and apprehend the culprits.