A young man was caught by police for attempting to use a “pistol” to scare others after he stole shoes from a mosque in Dhaka’s Panthapath. The 18-year-old detainee, Ibtisham Rahman Alfie, lives in Mohammadpur. According to him, he attends Bangladesh University. On Wednesday, January 29, at approximately 2:30 PM, the incident happened close to the SIBL Foundation Hospital mosque in Panthapath. In his first interrogation, Alfie admitted to the police that he had turned to shoe theft in order to purchase a birthday present for his girlfriend. Reporters were informed of this by Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Moktaruzzaman of the Kolabagan Police Station, who cited Alfie’s confession. The reality of the pistol that was discovered in his possession was also verified by the police.
Alfie claims that he wanted to offer his girlfriend a lovely birthday present. He began stealing shoes from several sources because he was poor and had not received any money from his parents. He intended to buy a gift using the proceeds from the sale of the pilfered shoes. But before he could, he was apprehended on Wednesday afternoon stealing shoes in Panthapath. He tried to intimidate people and get away at that point by pulling out a fake gun, but he was unsuccessful.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Moktaruzzaman spoke to the news organization Samakal about the event, saying, “The young man who was arrested says he is a student at Bangladesh University. The handgun in his possession appears to be authentic. He claimed to have purchased it from Bashundhara City Shopping Mall for 54,000 Taka. He threatened to shoot if caught using it to steal shoes. But in actuality, the weapon is incapable of loading or firing bullets.
The OC added that Alfie confessed to taking shoes for the previous three days during the first round of questioning. On Wednesday afternoon, congregants concluded their Zuhr prayers and left the mosque within SIBL Foundation Hospital in Panthapath, according to police and witnesses. It was then that one of them realized his shoes were gone. After reviewing the hospital’s CCTV footage, he and others were able to identify a suspect in the heist.
When they stepped outside, they spotted a young man resembling the one seen in the CCTV footage. Upon questioning him, he became agitated and pulled out a pistol. He threatened to shoot, causing everyone to step back. Taking advantage of the situation, he attempted to flee. Meanwhile, a rickshaw puller started shouting, “Thief! Thief!” Hearing this, some bystanders chased after him. Eventually, as the young man tried to escape towards the Panthapath traffic police box, Traffic Police Sub-Inspector (SI) Khabir Hossain caught and detained him.
source: Dhaka Tribune
