Now, FDC Possessed by 'Phone Set' Theft Discussion
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Actress Tasnia Farin was shooting in front of the Zahir Raihan Auditorium at FDC. She took a short break in the middle of the shoot. Thinking that journalists were waiting, she decided to speak with them for a bit. Farin walked toward the journalists gathered near the shooting set, with a production boy holding an umbrella over her head.
Journalists also stepped forward with their microphones. Farin began to speak and answered all their questions. After the conversation, Farin reached out her hand for her phone. She noticed with surprise that the phone did not return to her hand. This time she shouted a bit louder, "Where is my phone?" No, her phone was simply gone.
While she was talking to the journalists, a boy standing next to her had posed as a production crew member. There is an unwritten rule that whenever actresses go to work, they hand over their phones and bags to the production boys on duty. Farin had also handed over her phone while speaking to the journalists, but the boy posing as a production boy fled after stealing the phone. Later, the entire sequence was caught on CCTV footage, but the thief could not be caught. This incident took place about a year and a half to two years ago.
Although the incident is old, its continuation remains uninterrupted. Such incidents keep happening repeatedly at FDC. Most recently, multiple phone thefts have occurred within the last 10 to 12 days, all involving valuable phones.
Previously, FDC used to be in the discussion regarding shootings, and people held a lot of curiosity. Crowds would always gather at the gates of FDC. In between, it was in the news because of the Artists' Association elections. Now, FDC is making headlines in newspapers due to incidents of phone theft.
About 10 to 12 days ago, a person's phone was stolen from the Manna Digital Lab. The phone was stolen from amidst a crowd. Although the victim filed a general diary at the Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station, the phone was not recovered. While the thief could be seen on CCTV a couple of years ago, now even that is not possible. Currently, the CCTV cameras remain out of order, and as a result, the thief cannot be traced.
Last Friday evening, actress Tanha Tasnia went to the FDC Sound Complex to dub for a documentary. A person identifying himself as the chauffeur of actor Joy Chowdhury was present inside the dubbing room. Tanha said, "The person introducing himself as Joy Chowdhury's driver told me, 'Joy Sir is right there at the association.' Tea was brought for all of us there, and the person identifying himself as the driver handed me a cup of tea. After having the tea, I began my dubbing. Upon finishing the dubbing, when I looked for my phone, I found that my iPhone 17 Pro Max was gone."
Later, upon investigation, it was found that the person identifying himself as Chowdhury’s driver was actually not a driver at all. The man had made off with the phone. Although such incidents have been happening one after another at FDC for a long time, no one ever gets caught. Many allege that several people working within FDC are involved with this thief syndicate. Questions have been raised about how unknown individuals manage to enter FDC.
Unfamiliar individuals enter FDC by posing as content creators. This is the view held by film journalist Ahmed Tepantar. He spends a significant amount of time at FDC due to his work. According to Tepantar, "A large number of YouTubers enter FDC now. Those who enter FDC to steal do so disguised as YouTubers or content creators. For instance, they might walk in holding a camera stand or carrying a bag, and no one stops them."
"There is less work at FDC now, so the security system at FDC is very lax. Unfamiliar people are easily walking in, stealing, and walking right back out."
However, Masuma Rahman Tani, Managing Director of BFDC, stated that while work has increased, the number of personnel deployed for security is low. Taking advantage of this loophole, unfamiliar individuals are entering under false identities. In her words, "Anyone other than journalists and shooting unit members requires permission to enter FDC. Those who enter this way do so by identifying themselves as part of a shooting unit. Previously, there were complaints that unfamiliar individuals were jumping over the back wall of FDC, but we have raised the height of the back wall to stop people from entering through there."
"There are only four people, including the in-charge, deployed for security across the entire FDC. We need more personnel. We have submitted our requisition. Since the shooting of dramas, films, and advertisements has increased at FDC now, the gatherings of people are larger. We need additional personnel for security," Tani added.
FDC falls under the jurisdiction of the Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station in Dhaka. Aslam Hossain, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) on duty at the police station, told Agamier Shomoy, "We have recently received two complaints regarding lost iPhones. Among them is a theft that took place inside a dubbing room at FDC. It is not possible for anyone other than the shooting unit members to enter that place. We usually try to recover the phones once a complaint is filed."
According to the police official, "When an iPhone is lost, it cannot be recovered simply using the IMEI number. As soon as these phones are stolen, their parts are dismantled and smuggled out of the country. Consequently, it becomes difficult for us to recover iPhones. Nonetheless, we try our absolute best whenever we receive a complaint."
