UP secretary's house robbed in Pekua

A gang of armed robbers stormed the house of a Union Parishad secretary in Pekua, Cox's Bazar, in the dead of night, holding family members at gunpoint. The robbers ransacked the house for about 40 minutes, looting Tk 8.5 lakh in cash and 17 bhori of gold ornaments.

The incident occurred around 3:15am on Sunday (July 26) at Abdul Hamid Sikderpara in the proposed Ward No. 9 of Pekua municipality (Ward No. 7 of Sadar Union). The victims are Saudi expatriate Zamir Alam and his younger brother Rezaul Karim, administrative officer (secretary) of Matarbari Union Parishad in Maheshkhali upazila.

According to victims and local sources, UP Secretary Rezaul Karim was sitting at a nearby shop after stepping out to check on a motorcycle parked in front of the house. Around 3am, a white microbus sped past the road, and shortly after, 3-4 people came to the shop and asked for their identities. At one point, the robbers held Rezaul Karim and two others at gunpoint, took them to a nearby furniture shop and tied them up with rope.

Later, Rezaul Karim was taken to his house at gunpoint. There, 7-8 masked robbers entered, confined all family members to one room and threatened to shoot if anyone made a sound. The robbers looted Tk 6.5 lakh in cash and 10 bhori of gold from Rezaul Karim's room, and another Tk 2.5 lakh and 7 bhori of gold from his elder brother Zamir Alam's room. Before leaving, they also took the CCTV hard drive to erase evidence.

Pekua Police Station and Sadar Union Parishad Chairman M Bahadur Shah visited the scene after receiving the news.

Pekua Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mehedi Hasan said police visited the scene promptly after receiving the news. The incident is being investigated with utmost importance, and operations are ongoing to identify and arrest the robbers.