Ransom paid but Bangladeshi abducted in Malaysia yet to be freed
A 39-year-old Bangladeshi expatriate, who was abducted in Malaysia on September 25, 2022, was not released even after the payment of Tk 5 lakh ransom.
Victim Sohel Miah's family members have lodged complaints with Bangladesh and Malaysia police stations as he remains traceless for nine days.
Sohel, son of late Ahmed Miah of Dakshin Dhalapara village in Ghatail upazila of Tangail, has been working in a factory in Malaysia for over 15 years.
According to Sohel's neighbours in Malaysia, the abductors picked him up from in front of his home in Tamiljaya neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, on September 25 at 9pm (local time).
Mizan, another Bangladeshi expatriate and next-door neighbour of Sohel, said, "On the day of the incident, the victim came from work and spoke to his mother on mobile phone before going down. He was picked up from in front of his house by the abductors."
On September 28, Sohel's brother-in-law, Billal Hossain, filed a complaint with Ghatail Police Station in Tangail in this regard.
On the other hand, Hashem Ahmed, a relative of Sohel and also a Malaysian expatriate, filed a complaint with Johor Bahru Police Station in Malaysia on October 2, 2022.
According to the complaint lodged with the police stations, Billal received a call from a Malaysian number on September 25. Abductors threatened that if he doesn't pay Tk 5 lakh, Sohel will be killed. The next morning at 10 am, Sohel called him from the same number and said, "If you don't send the money quickly, they will kill me".
Where or to whom should the money be sent? -- When asked, another Bangladeshi took the phone from Sohel and gave the account number of an organisation named Kulpatoa Poultry Feed under Janata Bank Barishal branch and asked Billal to send the ransom there.
The family of Sohel quickly raised the ransom money by taking a loan. The funds were then deposited to the bank account provided by the abductors on September 27.
A money receipt for Tk 5 lakh was sent to the abductors' WhatsApp account on the same day. The kidnappers responded with "OK" from the other end.
However, the phone number is now switched off and there has not been any communication since that time.
Contacted, Nazmus Sadat Selim, minister (labour) of Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia, said the high commission is not aware of the abduction. So far, no written complaints have been received yet. The High Commission will act quickly if it receives a complaint, he added.
Comments