4 more arrested over bank robberies, arms looting in Bandarban

Police have arrested four more suspects in cases filed over the recent bank robberies and arms looting in Bandarban's Ruma.

They were arrested in Ruma and were later produced in the Bandarban Chief Judicial Magistrate Court today (14 April), where Judge ASM Imran ordered sending them to jail, Court Police Inspector Fazlul Haque told The Business Standard.

The arrestees are Lal Raubat Bom Prakash Appel, 27, Lal Lom Khar Bom Prakash Alam, 31, Mithusel Bom Prakash Among, 25, and Lal Ruat Lian Bom, 38.

Court General Registration Officer Biswajit Singh said the arrestees have been shown in the case documents as suspected members of the armed hill group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF).

Earlier this month, armed robbers robbed two branches of Sonali Bank and one branch of the Bangladesh Krishi Bank in Thanchi and Ruma of Bandarban. They looted around Tk17.5 lakh from the Thanchi branches while from Sonali Bank's Ruma branch, they kidnapped the manager and looted firearms from security guards.

The Sonali Bank branch manager was later freed by the KNF after a hefty ransom of Tk15 lakh was paid. The group is also suspected to be behind the other crimes as well.

A joint force of the police, army, border guard and the Rapid Action Battalion later launched a joint military operation to root out the group from the hills of Bandarban last Sunday.

A total of six cases have been filed over the incident and 62 people have been arrested so far.