Muggers shoot money changer in Mirpur, take Tk 22 lakh

Unidentified criminals shot a man and robbed him of Tk 22 lakh in local and foreign currencies in broad daylight in Dhaka's Mirpur area yesterday.

The victim, Jahidul Islam, 55, is the proprietor of a money exchange service in the Mirpur-10 area.

Sajjad Rumon, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station, said Jahidul was on his way to his shop from his home in Section 6 of Mirpur, carrying currencies worth Tk 22 lakh.

"When he reached Abdul Baten Road around 10:00am, six men in two motorcycles intercepted him. They demanded the money and, when he refused, one of them shot him on the left side of his waist," he added.

The attackers fled the scene with the money, the OC said.

Locals first rushed Jahidul to a nearby hospital. He was later transferred to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.

Law enforcement officials are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the suspects, said Mizanur Rahman, assistant commissioner of police of Mirpur Zone.

This incident is the latest in a series of killings and muggings in the capital over the past few weeks, raising fresh concerns over Dhaka's law and order.

On Sunday night, two masked assailants shot dead Kamrul Ahsan Shadhon, 52, joint convener of BNP's Gulshan Thana unit, in Badda's Gudaraghat area.

A day earlier, a group of three muggers attacked a man beneath the Pallabi metro station around 11:30pm, stabbing him and fleeing with his phone.