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 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,” he said during a routine 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 minister’s bodyguard chased the mugger but the latter managed to flee.