Trader rescued in Jurain two days after kidnap
Two days after his abduction from Bangshal, police rescued an automobile spare parts trader at Jurain in Dhaka early yesterday and arrested five of the alleged kidnappers.
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said they, acting on a tip off, raided a house in Jurain around 5:00am and rescued Abdul Hakim, 50.
Hakim had been tortured in captivity.
Police arrested Mohammad Rana, 25, Shamsuddin Ahmed, 24, and Mohammad Hridoy, 20, at the house and Nishi Begum, 26, and Bhagya Rani, 32, at Bangshal and Shyampur, said Monirul, addressing a press briefing at the media centre of DMP where the arrestees were paraded.
After the kidnapping on Thursday, the abductors demanded over Tk 3.10 lakh in ransom from Hakim's family, the police official added.
“Nishi had lured Hakim to Rani's house in Jurain from where the kidnappers took him,” Monirul claimed.
However, Hakim told The Daily Star that he was on a rickshaw in Bangshal going towards Rani's house when someone in a microbus travelling beside called out his name and asked him to stop.
“I stopped the rickshaw and before I knew what was going on they forced me into the vehicle,” said Hakim.
Monirul claimed that Nishi was employed by the kidnappers to lure people to places from where they could be abducted. “We know about five to six gangs who use such tactics. The women get a portion of the ransom,” he said.
Hakim said he was taken to a house and tortured brutally. “They smashed my knuckles with a hammer to force me to ask my family members to send them Tk 10,000 via mobile cash transfer bKash. I called up my younger brother, and he did so. However, they were not satisfied and went on torturing me asking for a further Tk 3 lakh,” said Hakim.
Hakim's clothes were stained with blood. There was a large mark over his right knee. His arms, chest and face bore bruises from beating.
Hakim's brother Abdul Matin filed a case with Bangshal Police Station on Friday in connection with the kidnapping.
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