Tk 500,000 vanishes in one minute, 4 taken to police station

Tk 500,000 belonging to a businessman went missing within one minute after he finished breakfast at a hotel in Akkelpur, Joypurhat and went to a nearby shop to have tea.

The incident occurred at SM Hotel in front of the upazila parishad on Friday morning, October 2.

Police took four people including the hotel’s female cashier to the police station for questioning over the incident.

The businessman, Liton Hossain, is a resident of Sherpur in Bogura. He was traveling by truck to Dhamoirhat in Naogaon to buy paddy. On the way, he entered SM Hotel with the truck driver Alam Hossain to have breakfast.

Liton Hossain said the bag containing the money was kept on a chair beside him while he was having breakfast. After finishing his meal, he paid the bill to the woman at the cash counter and went to a nearby shop to have tea. Just one minute later, he remembered the bag and rushed back to the hotel. He found that the bag was no longer on the chair. The woman at the cash counter was also gone.

Liton and his driver claimed that no one entered the hotel from outside during that one minute. Even the hotel employees could not say who had cleaned the table.

After receiving the report, police went to the scene and took hotel cashier Mahfuza Khatun (50), her son Saiful Islam (32), and employees Mintu (40), and Abid (30), to the police station.

Hotel owner Solaiman Ali said he was at the market when the incident occurred. His hotel also has no CCTV cameras.

Akkelpur Police Station Sub Inspector Bazlur Rashid said inconsistencies were found in the statements of hotel owner’s wife and cashier Mahfuza Khatun and the employees during preliminary questioning. However, they did not admit to taking the money. The matter is being investigated.