Political cadres-turned-kidnappers!

A kidnapping ring allegedly headed by a leader of ruling Awami League's Harirampur upazila unit in Manikganj has been busted by RAB. Two individuals were abducted by the group from the city's Tejgaon area last Friday, put into sacks and beaten for three days. The abductees were threatened with death unless they paid ransom. The initial ransom money paid by the families of the victims did not satisfy the kidnappers who insisted on being paid their initial demand of Tk 45 lakh. This is when RAB got involved and a member of the gang was apprehended at the bank while withdrawing money.

The fact that the gang is headed by a man holding an important party position at the local level is disturbing news. His associates also belong to the ruling party's student and youth wings. We wonder how many other unfortunate victims have suffered in their hands prior to their getting caught. That the prime accused has been running this criminal outfit for some time now makes us wonder how a criminal gang had managed their felonious trade for so long without the police getting a wind of it.

The bigger question, of course, is what the ruling party is going to do about this rising trend of their activists getting involved in criminal activities. When will the party realise that that their followers are sullying the party's name irretrievably? We hope that the investigation into this matter will be allowed to run its course without any sort of interference because anything to the contrary will simply reinforce the notion that ruling party cadres are above the law.