Dhaka: A large of number of city commuters who depend on CNG-driven auto-rickshaws are apparently in double trouble for lack of monitoring as they have to pay excess fare but in many cases their journeys end up with their belongings robbed of.

There is nothing new that the CNG-driven auto-rickshaw drivers hardly follow installed fare meters and charge almost double for any distance. But, the recent rise in the incident of snatching in newer ways added miseries to passengers' woes.

‘You can't imagine how you'll lose your belongings or a favourite expensive electronic gadget within a few seconds,’ said Ershadul Alam, a passenger who lost his cellphone set to muggers recently.

He said he was on his way to Gulshan-2 by a CNG-driven auto from Malibagh a couple of days back.

‘I was checking my email in my Samsung smart phone. Suddenly, I found my hand empty. Later, my driver discovered that the upper-hood roof was cut off and the snatcher took the phone set away.’

Such incidents are taking place frequently but there has been no initiative to check these crimes. If you talk to CNG auto-rickshaw drivers, many similar stories will be unfolded within minutes.

‘It's now order of the day. Just a few days back, one of my passengers lost his expensive mobile device near Banglamotor’, said Mohammad Mizan, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver at Mouchak intersection showing some of the stationary auto-rickshaws how their upper hood roofs were cut off.

Describing how it happens, he said the snatchers take position on the back stand and cut off the hood with anti-cutters identifying the location of goods and electronic devices.

The snatchers are not only cutting off upper-hood but also back, left and right sides ones of the auto-rickshaw depending on the position of valuable.

You even might get injured seriously if you try to resist as they usually remain equipped with sharp weapons, the victims say.

In most cases, they target expensive mobile phones, laptops, gold ornaments and other belongings.

On 8 March, Rezaul Karim Lotus, journalist of a popular national English daily, was robbed of his Samsung android cellphone set at Banani in the city.

Talking to UNB, Lotus who covers the diplomatic beat for the English daily, said he along with one of his colleagues was returning home by a CNG-run auto-rickshaw from his office.

As they reached Banani around 10:55pm, a mugger took away his mobile phone set while he was browsing on the internet. He said the criminal snatched the mobile phone set after cutting off the upper-hood of the three wheelers.

All the incidents took place while the auto-rickshaws keep moving. Many auto-rickshaws are now using steel net just below the upper-hoods for safety.

Contacted, Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (DB-PR) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said they have received such complaints from the victims.

‘We've already instructed police concerned to strengthen vigilance in the areas where such incidents usually occur to avert that.’

He also said the passengers should be more cautious about their belongings so that the snatchers could not get scope to take away their valuables through cutting off upper-hood roofs of the CNG-run auto-rickshaws.

Another police official, who also wished not to be named, told the agency that if the three-wheeler owners take extra measures on their own with attaching steel-nets below the upper-hood, it will help avert such snatchings.    

The second trouble which the passengers suffer in their everyday journeys but there has been no remedy to their miseries. The CNG-run three wheelers charge almost double fares without using meters.  

Admitting the fact, M Faruk, an auto-rickshaw driver, said they usually charge double fares as they do not have any alternative.

‘Suppose, I charge Tk 150 to Tk 180, even Tk 200 from Mouchak to Gulshan-2. It's almost double if you compare with the meter reading. But our costing is huge, so we do charge double’.

Faruk along with his fellow drivers also said they have to deposit Tk 900 to owner for 12 hours (8am-8pm) every day. ‘We've a budget of Tk 200 per day for police apart from expenditure for gas purchase and other costs.’

Asked why traffic police are reluctant about monitoring whether the drivers are following meter readings or not Additional Commissioner (Traffic) of DMP Mily Biswas said it is a continuous process. Usually, on-duty police sergeants check it routinely.’

Besides, she said, actions are taken instantly when passengers complain to the nearby on-duty traffic police about charging higher fares.

Asked further why no visible action is taken despite charging up to three times higher fares, the Additional Commissioner (Traffic) said they remain busy maintaining law and order amid the ongoing hartal and blockade.