3 bank officials arrested in Tk 34 lakh Naogaon robbery
Representational image: Collected
Online gambling spread at an alarming rate across Raninagar, Naogaon. Many individuals are losing everything and accumulating heavy debts by gambling on their mobile phones. To gather money to pay off their debts, some people are turning to crimes including theft and mugging, while others are abandoning their homes.
According to details from the Raninagar Police Station, two officials from the Abadpukur Islami Bank Agent Branch were returning on a motorcycle on 6 October after withdrawing money from Santahar.
On their way, assailants assaulted them in the Paroil Bridge area along the Abadpukur-Adamdighi road and robbed nearly Tk 34 lakh from them. Police arrested seven people, including the three bank officials.
Naogaon Superintendent of Police (SP) confirmed the matter at a press conference on 9 October. Police said losing money in online gambling and falling into debt drove the three bank officials to join the robbing conspiracy.
Chandra Das of Haripur village said four to five people in the village became destitute after losing money in gambling, while two to three others have fled their homes due to overwhelming debts.
Mozahar Hossain, a fish farmer from Gopinathpur village, shared his experience, saying, “Once I won Tk 1.20 lakh in online gambling and bought a motorcycle. Later, after losing nearly Tk 1.5 lakh, I have now quit gambling.”
Highlighting the social fallout, Helal Uddin, Nikah Registrar of Kaligram Union, said an expatriate’s wife lost nearly Tk 5-6 lakh in online gambling, prompting her husband to divorce her from abroad. Financial distress and domestic disputes caused by gambling are shattering many families.
Ekdala Union Parishad Chairman Shahjahan Ali added that many complaints arriving at the village court involve family turmoil resulting from people losing everything to gambling. His driver lost money in online gambling and fled a few days ago after stealing nearly Tk 50,000. He demanded urgent and effective intervention to bring the situation under control.
Raninagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Zakaria Mondal noted that apart from those arrested in the bank robbery incident, authorities have not yet arrested anyone else involved in online gambling, nor have any other cases been filed.
However, he assured that police will launch a drive against individuals engaged in online gambling under the new law.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Raquibul Hasan and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Nabila Yasmin said mobile courts have not yet sentenced anyone for online gambling. They affirmed that steps are underway to execute drives and enforce measures under the new law, alongside initiatives to curb online gambling by expanding public awareness.
