Just Another Mugging Event

Ryan and I were returning home by rickshaw at around 10:30pm yesterday (Fri Nov 12). We had just got on to our road #95, taking right turn after the lane behind Dhali at Gulshan 2 DCC market. Suddenly a car (private) stopped infront of us. 1 man stopped the rickshaw on my side and two others came to Ryan's side. There may have been a couple more. They asked for our belongings and we obliged. They took my purse, Ryan's wallet and mobile and checked my neck for chain which I didn't have. They were not too organized/calm in the sense that they kept asking one another whether specific items were taken. One man searched Ryan's pocket. In less than a minute, they had all they wanted and returned Ryan's key and asked the rickshaw to pull on straight ahead. I wanted to ask for my key set but they were warning then that they will shoot if we stop or turn.

I think it was a silver car but Ryan says it could have ben a white one. We do not know the model. I feel queasy relating event of a rickshaw passengers being robbed by car owners, but hey truth is stranger than fiction! They were probably residents of the same area, trying to get some extra pocket money before Eid. I say this because they did not sound uneducated or unpolished.

It was just about 15 to 20 yards from our apartment gate. So we got down from the rickshaw at the gate of our apartment. Ryan for the first time noticed that the trouser was ripped by a cut. Who knows why they did this in spite of our compliance - they panicked or wanted to make sure we did not cause any aftermath or may be just for the heck of it.

Felt very lost with no phone, no memorized numbers and no money. Did not want to wake parents with such a news at that late hour. God bless the hijackers for at least returning Ryan's keys (no one else was at home). I went up to collect some cash and any phone number. Luckily my 3 year old phone book was in my bedside drawer. With that we started for Apollo in neighbor's car.

In the hospital, they bandaged the cut first as the only available surgeon was attending another patient. The cut was about 3 inch in length and half inch deep, on the outer side of the left thigh. Only muscle, no major damage. About an hour later Ryan came out of procedure room with two layer of stitches. Dont know the inner layer count; 7 on the top layer with the non-biodegradable thread that will need to be cut later.

While paying the bill, I found the cash I had was not enough and there was no way to arrange to pay the bill later although we are registered card holders of the hospital. Our friend Bappi cleared the bill and gave us a lift back home. Oh and also had to arrange trousers for Ryan in this late hour and shocked state. Hospitals should have some necessities available for sale.

I went to Gulshan thana today evening to file a General Diary stating the hijacking. The first officer said there were hundreds of such cases everyday so it was no use reporting. On my insistence, another officer explained that its against the law!! To report any crime, one has to file an FIR (First Information Report) for a case instead of a GD, and that too only if the OC approves. So thinking now whether it would be wise to get into any legal hassle. After all, today Khaleda Zia too complained about the state of law enforcement that threw her out of her cantonment residence!

Ryan can walk and move. He has been advised not to take too much stress (go out) until the stitches are cut 2 weeks later. 2 antibiotics have been advised only.

Ryan got his sim replaced today by his office. I will try to get mine soon. Need to buy mobile sets too and change locks. Tomorrow is hartal and after that there are Eid holidays. That might delay things but gives us sometime to recover the shock.

Update on 22nd Nov
My cell phone set record has not been good of late. Sony Ericsson K810i motherboard malfunctioned soon after the 1 year warranty coverage. Got a Nokia 6124 classic (vodafone edition) which got bag-lifted from Gausia on Aug 4 this year. Fed up with Aktel customer service and unsure of what changes Robi will bring, decided to change the number/provider as well. Hence got rid of the 01819293921 number that I have been using since late 2001. And wanted to stick to Nokia so got the feature rich E66. It turned out to be very convenient for me with the Ovi store and with Wi-Fi at home.

After this mugging event, I thought I will buy a second hand E66 so that it has all features but costs less. So I checked online- clickbd and cellbazaar- and found quite a few. At first wanted to go for the black version but then thought better to stick to the silver one. So Ryan started contacting sellers - one was in Jatrabari which is too far, one or two more had their cell phone off and another was already sold. On Monday, found a new sale posting and planned to meet the seller the same day evening to buy it. Met in Dhanmondi Helvetia, Sumon was with us. As soon as the seller showed us the set, I knew it was mine, with the top of the screen protector cut at an angle and a corner coming off. Of course the display customizations were reset and all data (and memory card) removed. The seller said that this set was left behind by this brother who moved to England and also box/papers were lost when they shifted house. Considering it risky to get involved with such people or show them that we suspect anything, paid him his asking price and bought back the set for Tk 6,800! After that checked IMEI number (unique ID of cell phone) and it matched...small world!!

Later found that many sellers in these online buy-sell sites are selling multiple mobile sets within a short span of time. Very suspicious. And if police wanted to, they could easily make life for stolen mobile dealers difficult by tracking IMEI number.

Sat Nov 27 : Ryan's stitches are cut.