Thieves broke the lock of a donation box at a mosque in Natore’s Bagatipara and stole the cash inside. The incident occurred before dawn Saturday (Sept. 5) at Galimpur Central Jame Mosque in the upazila’s Ward No. 1 Paka union.
According to mosque committee sources, a resident of a house near the mosque, Masidul, stepped out at dawn to brush his teeth, while at the same time a woman arriving to put 100 taka into the donation box noticed the lock had been broken. They reported it to mosque committee cashier Komor Uddin.
After being informed, the committee’s cashier came to the scene and reviewed the mosque’s CCTV footage. The footage showed two people, their heads and faces covered with cloth, approaching the donation box. Within just seven to eight minutes, they broke the lock, stuffed the cash into a bag and left. Because their faces were covered, they could not be identified.
Mosque committee cashier Komor Uddin said, “I was overseeing workers at a nearby madrasa. When I got the call and came, I found the donation box lock broken and all the cash inside gone. An announcement was then made over the mosque’s loudspeaker. Local residents and committee members reviewed the CCTV footage together. Police came to the scene after being informed and collected the footage.”
He added that the donation box had not been opened for about one year and three months. The last time it was opened, three months earlier, it had yielded about 65,000 taka. Appealing for the community’s help in identifying the thieves, he said the mosque committee would honor and reward anyone who provided information leading to their identification.
The mosque’s imam, Hafez Mohammad Mehedi Hasan Dulal, said the mosque receives various donations, including from worshippers every Friday, which are kept in the donation box. According to the CCTV footage, the two men approached the donation box at 3:57 a.m. and broke the lock, then left with a sackful of cash at 4:05 a.m. Because their faces were covered, they could not be identified.
Bagatipara Model Police Station’s officer-in-charge, Suman Chandra Das, said, “Police visited the scene after being informed and collected the CCTV footage. Further legal action is underway.”