Two Arrested Over Theft of Prime Minister’s Special ‘Red Telephone’ Copper Cables at Secretariat
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested two individuals in connection with the theft of copper cables from the Prime Minister’s Office’s special “Red Telephone” communication line located at the Secretariat.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Ranjan Chandra (25), an outsourced employee at the Secretariat, and Rezakul Islam (32), a scrap metal trader. Police also recovered 8.2 kilograms of the stolen copper cables from their possession.
At a briefing on Thursday afternoon, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, Commissioner of DMP, said that a sensitive incident involving the theft of cables from the Prime Minister’s Office’s special Red Telephone network had recently occurred at the Secretariat. Following the incident, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) filed a case with Shahbagh Police Station against unidentified suspects.
Considering the significance of the matter, CTTC’s City Intelligence Analysis Division launched a shadow investigation.
During the investigation, Ranjan Chandra was questioned on Thursday noon and reportedly confessed to the theft. According to his statement, he stole the copper cables from Building No. 3 of the Secretariat on May 22 and later sold them on June 1 to a scrap shop located in front of Amar Ekushey Hall at University of Dhaka for Tk 600 per kilogram.
Based on the information provided by Ranjan, police arrested Rezakul Islam. The stolen cables were subsequently recovered from a warehouse on Hossaini Dalan Road under Chawkbazar Police Station jurisdiction.
Preliminary findings suggest that an organized syndicate may be involved in the theft of important cables from the Secretariat. CTTC officials said further investigations are underway.
During the briefing, the DMP Commissioner also discussed the overall law and order situation in the capital during the Eid-ul-Adha holidays. He noted that while no major disturbances occurred, there were isolated incidents of theft, robbery, and mugging. However, those involved are being swiftly brought under the law.
Mosleh Uddin Ahmed further stated that 2,048 individuals were arrested over the past month for various crimes, including extortion. Among them, 658 were arrested on extortion-related charges.
To improve traffic management in the capital, DMP has installed 70 artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cameras at 57 locations across the city. The Commissioner also said that enforcement drives against battery-operated auto-rickshaws on major roads are continuing.
/DBTech/AS/EK/OR/
