Involved, but indirectly

Three of the six persons arrested by Rab Wednesday night over the abduction of Parag Mondol gave confessional statements yesterday while the rest were placed on a 10-day remand each.
In their statements, Zahidul Islam and Mohammad Ali Rifat, both students, and auto-rickshaw driver Kala Chand described their roles in the kidnap, said OC Shakhawat Hossain of South Keraniganj Police Station.
Zahid and Rifat claimed gang leader Ameer Hossain alias Langra Ameer took away Parag after shooting the boy's mother, sister and the family's driver. They were unaware of the abduction plan and Ameer misguided and exploited them.
Ameer, a listed criminal active in Old Dhaka and Keraniganj, is still at large, law enforcers say.
Kala Chand said he had just been keeping an eye on Parag and the family for around a month till the incident as he was promised a reward of Tk 5 lakh in return.
Ameer's brother-in-law Abul Kashem and Rizvi Ahmed Onik and Alfaz Hossain were taken on remand as police were not satisfied with information the trio disclosed during an earlier interrogation.
After police produced the six before a Dhaka court yesterday, a magistrate recorded the confessional statements of the three and ordered sending them to jail while granted remand for others.
The Rapid Action Battalion handed them over to police Thursday night.
The day before, police arrested Ameer's relative Mamun Miah from Munshiganj. He was placed on a seven-day remand on Thursday.
Son of Bimol Mondol, Parag was abducted on November 11 and he was found three days later at Atibazar, two kilometres off his residence.
Sources say different interest groups targeting Bimol's properties got involved in the crime.
"We are also hearing of the involvement of some local influentials. But until and unless Ameer is arrested, we cannot say anything for sure," the OC said.
Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of Rab's Intelligence Wing, said, "We are not sure whether anybody pulled strings from behind."
Sanwar Hossain, a senior assistant commissioner of DB, quoted Mamun as saying, "They [Ameer and Mamun] had been planning to run a sewing machine business and they had planned the abduction to raise capital."
"Both Ameer and Mamun had visited China in June on business purpose", Sanwar said. "Ameer was arrested soon after their return in July. He was freed on bail around one and a half months ago.”