Two people have been arrested in connection with the theft of copper cables linked to the “red telephone” communication line at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat office in Dhaka, police said on Thursday.
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police detained the suspects during separate operations in and around the capital. The arrested individuals have been identified as 26-year-old Ranjan Chandra and 32-year-old Rejakul Islam.
According to a CTTC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, Ranjan, who worked as an outsourcing employee at the Secretariat, allegedly stole approximately eight kilograms of copper cables from the government complex. He is then believed to have sold the stolen material to Rejakul Islam.
Officials suspect that a wider organised group may be involved in the theft of communication infrastructure from within the Secretariat premises.
The incident reportedly took place during the Eid holiday period, when copper cables installed between Old Secretariat Building-2 and New Building-1 were cut and stolen. These communication lines are understood to be part of a critical government network, including connections used by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Division and the Public Administration Ministry.
Following the incident, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) submitted a written complaint to the Ministry of Home Affairs on 1 June, prompting an investigation into the matter.
Authorities are now examining whether additional individuals were involved and whether similar thefts have occurred within other secured government facilities.
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