Four youths, including two teenagers, from Chittagong’s Anwara Upazila have been abducted and tortured in Libya for a ransom of Tk10 lakh per person, as seen in videos sent to their families.
The development was reported to the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and the local police on Wednesday afternoon.
The victims are Borhan Uddin, 19, Jabedur Rahim, 19, Nayeem Uddin, 20, and Md Wasim, 22, all hailing from the upazila’s Raipur Union.
The relatives of them said that the four youths were sent to Libya with the help of Jahirul Islam of the area in February.
Jahirul charged them Tk430,000 each, promising them a well-paid job in a Libyan hospital.
They left home for Libya on February 16.
Victim Borhan’s brother Sahab Uddin said: “Middleman Jahirul first took my brother and three others to Dubai on tourist visas. Once there, he handed them over to Joypurhat resident Md Mizan.
“He (Mizan) seized their passports and handed them over to a human trafficker a week later,” Shahab said. “Jahirul is a member of the crime ring, and if he is arrested, everything will be clear,” he added.
Jabedur’s father Abdur Rahim said the abductors have been torturing the four youths in Libya.
“The kidnappers sent us video and audio clips of the torture on Tuesday. In a video message, they demanded Tk10 lakh in ransom for each of them,” he said.
Rahim said: “The kidnappers gave us the account number of a private bank in Cox’s Bazar.
“They have threatened to kill them if the ransom was not paid at the earliest. But I’m unable to pay this much money and I can’t even raise the amount,” he said.
When contacted, Anwara UNO Md Ishtiaque Ymon attested to receiving a complaint from the families of the victims.
“Necessary measures will be taken after discussing the matter with the authorities concerned,” the UNO added.