Robbers loot NRBC Bank's Bogura branch of Tk10 lakh

Unidentified robbers broke into a chest at a sub-branch of NRBC Bank in Bogura Sadar Upazila and stole Tk10 lakh.

Police initially reported that the robbery might have occurred at some point last night (26 January) after the stairwell door lock of the bank building was cut.

The incident came to light this morning (27 January). No arrests have been made in connection with the robbery so far.

The manager of the sub-branch filed a case over the incident with Bogura Sadar police station this afternoon.

Bogura Sadar police station Inspector (Investigation) Shahinuzzaman said no one has been named in the case. 

"All the accused are unknown. No one has been arrested yet. But an investigation is underway," he said.

The NRBC Bank sub-branch is located on the ground floor of a two-story building in Pallimangal Hat.

An office of the non-government organisation SKS is also located in the same unit as the bank, said bank officials and police sources. 

Malik Abdur Razzaq, the owner of the building who lives in the same building, said he found the door of his home locked from the outside when he tried to leave this morning.

Later, he called an SKS official and described the situation. The SKS official then arrived and alerted everyone in the market. 

Eventually, Razzaq managed to get out and found the bank office door open. The chest with money in was open, and the rooftop door was also found open.

He added that they informed the bank officials and called the police at 999.

Rashedul Islam, the manager of the NRBC Bank sub-branch, said, "We closed the bank on Thursday after finishing our accounting. This morning, we heard about the robbery.

"On arrival, we found our bank chest broken into and Tk9.78 lakh stolen by the culprits."

He said, "Our branch has a limit of up to Tk10 lakh. If the amount exceeds this amount, it is deposited at the main branch. Since it was below this threshold on Thursday, it was not deposited at the main branch."

The bank officials said this branch primarily opens customer accounts and manages various microloans. 

Three bank officers work here, but there are no security guards. The robbers also took all the CCTV equipment.

Meanwhile, multiple teams of police are investigating the robbery. 

After inspecting the site, Bogura District Police Superintendent Sudip Kumar Chakraborty said, "This is just a small two-room branch. There were no adequate security measures here, not even a vault. Money was kept in a chest.

"The robbers took advantage of this situation to break in and steal the money," he added.

He further said, "The robbery of bank money is a sensitive issue. We have already deployed our local police and detective branch. We are thoroughly analysing the incident to ensure that the highest measures are taken to arrest those involved."