Gold trader Mridul Chowdhury was rescued from Comilla in the early hours of yesterday, a week after he was abducted from his home in the port city.
The investigation officer of the abduction case, Sub-Inspector Kamruzzaman of Kotwali police station of Chittagong, told the Dhaka Tribune the gold trader was left unconscious in Kongsanagar Bazar area of Burichang upazila in Comilla Sunday night.
When he got back his sense yesterday morning, a night guard came to his rescue. Mridul called his family and told them about his location, Kamruzzaman said.
Later on information, police rescued him from the spot and took him to Burichang police station and contacted his family.
Mridul’s brother Shimul Chowdhury was present when Comilla police handed over the victim to Chittagong police.
Mridul Chowdhury went missing after he lodged a gold robbery case against RAB 2 Major Rakibul Amin and two others.
Mridul said a group of five-six people introducing themselves as Detective Branch of police picked him up and took him to a black microbus from Puraton telegraph road of Chittagong town while going to his shop on February 11 around 10am, according to our correspondent in Comilla.
The kidnappers blindfolded and beat him indiscriminately on February 14. They didn’t inform Mridul the reason behind the abduction.
He said: “I don’t have any rivalry with anyone. The kidnappers told me to make preparation for going outside on Sunday.” He thought that was his last day and the kidnappers might kill him.
He started calling the name of God. On the day around 2pm, the kidnappers threw him in a paddy field near Kongsanagar Bazar area with hands and legs tied.
The abductors rubbed ointment on his eyes before leaving him to the field. Later, a night guard Abdur Rashid Bhuiyan rescued him.
Shimul Chowdhury filed a kidnapping case with Kotowali police station against unknown people on February 11. The case statement says, RAB-Police is involved in the kidnapping.
It had been alleged that a RAB official has looted around 80 tolas of gold belonging to Mridul. The gold trader filed a lawsuit with Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court against RAB official Rakibul and two others accusing them to have robbed the amount of gold.
The case statement said Mridul sent his gold to Dhaka through train on October 3 along with his driver Babul Pal. After coming to Kamalapur Railway Station, RAB 2 Major Rakibul Amin and his fellow RAB member Fahad Chowdhury forcefully picked Babul into a car, and later threw him out of the car and fled by taking hold of the gold.
Mridul called Rakibul over phone and requested him to return his gold while Rakibul answered he would return it after investigation. But the RAB 2 major didn’t return the gold.
On December 3, Rakibul allegedly threatened Mirdul by saying that the latter would fall in danger if he asked him (Rakibul) to return the gold in future.