Trader kept confined to DU hall for hours

Police yesterday rescued a trader from a dormitory of Dhaka University, around 15 hours after he was picked up allegedly by a central leader of Chhatra League and his cohorts.
Farhad Islam, 25, was rescued from Jagannath Hall where he had been held hostage since 9:00pm on Thursday. His captors wanted his family to pay back a loan he had mediated for a friend from one Arfan Patwary.

Police arrested Srijon Ghosh Sajeeb, deputy sports secretary of the BCL, and Arfan Patwary.
Five other leaders of the BCL's university and hall units had been detained but were later released as police found no evidence of their involvement in the incident, Shibli Noman, assistant commissioner (Ramna zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
They only tried to prevent the police from arresting their leader Sajeeb, he added.
According to Farhad, his friend Akhter borrowed Tk 5 lakh from Arfan, a childhood friend of Farhad, around six months ago. Farhad was the guarantor. Akhter was supposed to pay back the money in monthly instalments.
However, Akhter stopped paying the instalment after three months and Arfan started asking Farhad to pay the rest of the money from his pocket, Farhad told The Daily Star at Shahbagh Police Station.
On Thursday night, Arfan along with 10 to 15 youths, including the BCL leader, picked him up from Shahbagh, took him to the DU hall and kept him confined to Sajib's room in Govinda Chandra Dev building.
They made Farhad phone his family and tell them to come with Tk 5 lakh for his release. The family informed the police right away.
Around 12:00noon yesterday, as his family members went to the Central Shaheed Minar area to give the money, police nabbed Arfan.
On Arfan's information, police rescued Farhad from the dormitory, a few hundred yards from the Shaheed Minar, and detained Sajeeb from there.
Farhad alleged that he was beaten up with iron rods and burnt with cigarette butts during his confinement.
Farhad's family has filed a case against Arfan with Shahbagh Police Station in this connection.