70kg brass bell stolen from church recovered

Police have recovered a brass bell weighing about 70 kilograms that was stolen from Saint Paul's School and Church in the capital's Mohammadpur. The bell was found abandoned beside a garbage bin on Zakir Hossain Road under Mohammadpur Police Station around 2:50am on Thursday.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mohammadpur Police Station Md Abdul Halim said the bell had been kept in an open space on the second floor of Saint Paul's School and Church in front of the WASA building on Asad Avenue. Sometime after 12:03am on Thursday, an unknown thief or thieves took it away.

Upon receiving news of the theft at 4:35am, police went to the scene and inspected it. Later, multiple police teams began operations to recover the stolen bell and arrest those involved.

The OC said that amid the police operation, the thief or thieves threw the bell away and fled. Later, the bell was recovered wrapped in a white polythene bag beside the garbage bin on Zakir Hossain Road.

Before the theft, the church's CCTV camera recording had been off since 12:03am. Police are also investigating the reason for the recording being off from that time.

Officer-in-Charge Abdul Halim said CCTV camera footage from various nearby establishments is being collected and analysed. Operations are underway to identify and arrest those involved in the incident.

The recovered bell is currently in police custody. Police said legal proceedings over the incident are also ongoing.