Two remanded over PMO cable theft

A Dhaka court on Friday granted a five-day remand for two men accused in the theft of copper cables from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) red telephone connection at the Secretariat, a case that has raised concerns over the security of critical government communication infrastructure.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Hasan Shahadat passed the order following a hearing.
The information was confirmed by Shah Alam, a sub-inspector of the Dhaka Metropolitan Prosecution Department.

Earlier, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Sub-Inspector Enjamul Haque, the investigation officer in the case, produced the two accused before the court and sought seven days of remand for each. The court, however, allowed five days.

According to CTTC sources, the disappearance of cables connected to the PMO’s red telephone system recently drew widespread attention on social media and in news reports. Following the incident, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) filed a case with Shahbagh Police Station against unidentified individuals.

As part of the investigation, law enforcers analysed evidence and intelligence inputs before taking Ranjan Chandra, 26, an outsourcing employee at the Secretariat, into custody for questioning on Thursday.

During interrogation, Ranjan allegedly admitted to removing the copper cables from Building No 3 of the Secretariat on May 22, CTTC sources said.

Investigators said he later sold 8.2 kilograms of the stolen copper wire to a scrap dealer in front of Ekushey Hall at Dhaka University on June 1 at a rate of Tk 600 per kilogram.

Acting on information obtained from Ranjan, a CTTC team conducted a raid and arrested Rizakul Islam, 32, from a scrap shop adjacent to Ekushey Hall.

A subsequent operation at a scrap warehouse on Hoseni Dalan Road in Chawkbazar led to the recovery of the stolen copper cables belonging to the PMO’s red telephone connection, investigators said.

Preliminary findings indicate that an organised criminal network may have been involved in stealing cables from several important communication links inside the Secretariat, according to CTTC sources.
Investigators are continuing efforts to identify other suspected members of the alleged syndicate and bring all those involved under the law.