Students and locals have foiled the attempt of some miscreants to abduct an SSC student and set their microbus on fire in Faridpur.
The incident took place on Monday morning, at around 9:45am, in front of Komorpur Abdul Aziz Institution to the east of the Dhaka-Khulna highway, under ward no 2 of Faridpur municipality.
According to locals, four female students were heading to the school on Monday morning when a minibus stopped in front of them and attempted to pull one student in.
When she screamed, locals and other students rushed to the scene, catching and beating the minibus driver and two other accomplices.
Police later arrived and took them into custody.
The main perpetrator, Bidhan Poddar, 18, hailing from the Dhuldi area of Majchar union in Faridpur Sadar upazila, managed to run away.
Gopal Chandra Biswas, the headmaster of the institute, said that the student is due to sit her SSC exams this year and the school is currently running test exams, with the last one ending on Monday.
“On her way to school, the kidnappers stopped and tried to pull her into the vehicle. Hearing her screams, fellow students and locals responded by catching and beating the culprits before handing them over to the police,” he said.
During the beating, the kidnappers’ minibus was set ablaze, he added.
Ward councillor Kuddusur Rahman said that it is still unclear who set the minibus on fire.
“Later, a team from Faridpur Fire Service and Civil Defence arrived and put out the fire,” he added.
Faridpur Kotwali police station Inspector (Operation) Abdul Gaffar said that the main perpetrator, Bidhan, had been harassing the girl on her way to and from school.
However, she had not informed her guardians or school teachers about it, he said.
“Today, when the opportunity arose, he tried to kidnap her,” he added.
Abdul Gaffar further said that in connection with the incident, Alamgir, 52, and Mamun, 40, have been detained and are currently receiving medical treatment at Faridpur Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital under police custody.
Legal proceedings are underway, he added.
