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The Special Response Battalion (SRB) came within just 220 metres of recovering the stolen mobile phone of former interim government Law Adviser Professor Asif Nazrul before losing track of the device at the last moment.
The phone’s last known location was traced to Mirpur in the capital, and law enforcement officials had reached close to the location when tracking connectivity was suddenly lost.
According to SRB-2 Commander Additional DIG Naimul Hasan, the phone was still active on Thursday morning, allowing the team to track its location using technology.
However, Asif Nazrul removed his old SIM card at that critical moment, automatically deactivating the SIM in the stolen phone and severing the tracking connection.
Additional DIG Naimul Hasan confirmed the development to the media on Friday (November 13).
Describing the recovery attempt, he said the phone, snatched through the open window of a moving car on Wednesday, remained operational until Thursday morning. The SRB team had reached within 220 metres of its location in Mirpur and was making a final effort to recover it.
However, due to a lack of coordination, the former law adviser removed his old SIM card at that moment, causing the tracking connection to be lost, he said.
Hasan added that efforts to recover the phone through alternative means were still underway.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening when Asif Nazrul was travelling from Dhanmondi towards New Market. As his car was caught in traffic near Sobhanbagh, a snatcher reached through the open window, grabbed his iPhone and fled.
A case has been filed under the Speedy Trial Act with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station in connection with the incident.
Police, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) and the SRB are jointly conducting investigations and operations to recover the device.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Tejgaon Division) Ibn-e-Mizan said the incident was being treated with the highest priority, adding that specialised law enforcement agencies were also working alongside police to recover the phone.
Investigators said recovering the device could take additional time because of the security features and technical complexities associated with iPhones. According to police officials, organised snatching gangs often dismantle expensive smartphones immediately after stealing them and sell their components separately, making it difficult to recover the devices intact.
Following the incident, Asif Nazrul expressed his frustration in a Facebook post, saying a young man had snatched his phone in a second through the open window of his car. He also urged people to remain cautious if anyone contacted them from the stolen number seeking money or sending suspicious messages.
Similar incidents involving mobile phone snatching from the vehicles of prominent figures have occurred in the capital before.
On May 30, 2021, former Planning Minister MA Mannan had his iPhone snatched from his hand through the window of a moving vehicle on Bijoy Sarani Road. Police initially struggled to solve the case as there were no CCTV cameras at the scene.
However, nearly one and a half months later, on July 19 of that year, police recovered the former minister’s phone from a collection of stolen devices seized during an investigation into another snatching case.