DHAKA: A senior Cabinet minister in Bangladesh has been robbed of his mobile phone by a mugger while he was travelling in his official vehicle here.
Bangladesh's Planning Minister M A Mannan said he was browsing something on his phone with his car's window rolled down when the robber snatched the device from his hand on Sunday.
Suddenly, before I even knew what was happening, the mugger grabbed it out of my hand and ran away, the senior cabinet member told the media during a routine press briefing on Monday.
It took me a couple of seconds to realise what was happening as I was absorbed in my browsing," he said.
The bewildered minister then told his armed bodyguard sitting on the car's front seat to chase the mugger but the latter managed to flee.
Dhaka police, however, said they have put in their "best efforts" to track down the mugger and recover the stolen phone.
The incident happened when the minister left his office for his residence on Sunday and was held up by traffic at Bijoy Sarani area, known as a snatchers hotspot.