3 banks stormed by armed criminals in less than 16 hours

Less than 16 hours after another bank heist in the district‍‍`s Ruma upazila, armed robbers broke into the branches of Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank in Bandarban‍‍`s Thanchi upazila on Wednesday and stole cash from the vaults.

Thanchi Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Mamun said that the event of today occurred at around 12:30pm in the Thanchi Bazar region of the upazila. 

Less than ten minutes after they assaulted the branches, the robbers fled the area and the nearby banks, according to witnesses.

After breaking into the banks, the robbers took hold of the guards‍‍` rifles and destroyed every CCTV system. 

Subsequently, they forced bank staff to access the vault and stole the cash from them.

According to the witnesses, the robbers fired shots inside the branches. 

Locals said, at 11:30 a.m., 50–60 males wearing camouflage walked into there and began stealing people‍‍`s cell phones. 

At 12:30 pm, 15 to 20 armed men entered each bank, while another 15 to 20 men were stationed at the Sangu Bridge nearby. Less than ten minutes after the robbers entered the banks, they all exited the area.

Last night, at approximately 9:00 p.m., armed robbers broke into the Ruma upazila parishad complex in Bandarban, disarmed the security guards and stole their guns, looted the Sonali Bank branch, and kidnapped Nezam Uddin, the bank manager.