Before the incidents of horrific kidnaps of seven individuals and their grisly murders vanished from the memory of Narayanganj residents, fresh abductions and ransom demand hit the flashpoint.
In the latest developments of such incident, a businessman got kidnapped Thursday night in the city on his way home, sending the city dwellers into a panic.
Victim Saiful Islam, 35, owner of a departmental store, however, was rescued last night around 11:45pm from Nabinagar in Savar.
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police personnel rescued him 24 hours after his abduction from in front of the National Memorial.
With the RAB and police close on their heels the abductors tossed blindfolded Saiful out of the microbus with his hands tied from behind.
Immediate after Saiful was rescued RAB personnel took him to the headquarters of the Rab-4 in the capital where he described his horrific experience.
“None of them told me anything and they did not demand any ransom. They gave me only a piece of bread today (Friday) morning,” said Saiful.
Saiful said he could not see the faces of any of the abductors as they had grabbed him from behind and perhaps five to six people whisked him off into a car from near Sanarpar Bus Stand between 9:30pm and 10pm Thursday when he was on his way home on foot.
“I lost my consciousness soon after and later when I came back to my sense I found myself blindfolded and my hands tied from behind. But I could not recognise the place as I was confined to a room.”
He said one of the abductors beat him up with a stick five to six times.
Asked, he claimed that he could not guess for what he had been kidnapped and who might have been involved in the abduction.
Meanwhile, at the press briefing, Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, Director of Legal and Media Wing of the RAB, claimed that the abductors freed Saiful in the face of their massive operation and the RAB personnel could guess that Saiful had been kept on the Western side of the capital.
Saifuil went missing from Siddhirganj’s Sign board area around 9pm Thursday. The abductors demanded a ransom of Tk10 lakh from the victim’s family.
Victim’s wife, Afrin Sultana, said Saiful set out from his house for his workplace around 5pm Thursday.
As he did not return home within 9pm and his cellphone was switched off, Saiful’s family was apprehensive that he was abducted on his way back home.
They started searching for his whereabouts, but failed to trace him.
“In the morning we filed a general diary with Siddhirganj police station in this connection,’’ said Afrin, who claimed that her husband had no enmity with anyone.
“On Thursday he was about to receive money from an individual, who had borrowed that some days back. We asked that man whether he met Saiful, but he replied in the negative,” she said.
The wife said around 2:30am yesterday, their shop manager, Hannan, received a call on his cellphone and the caller demanded Tk20 lakh.”
“We suspect that Hannan is involved with the gang. If not, the abductors would make a call on my cellphone,” she argued.
Earlier, the new abductions and apparent police failure so far to nab killers of the seven abductees sparked fresh street protest yesterday.
Locals issued an ultimatum to the law enforcement agencies to rescue the abducted businessman by yesterday evening.
As the lawmen failed to arrest any, angry mob tried to block the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in the evening.
Police charged baton, lobbed tear gas canisters and fired blank shots to disperse them. A tense situation had been prevailing there.
A large contingent of lawmen had been deployed in Sanarparh, Siddhirganj, Sign Board and Kachpur areas.
As the news of abduction spread across the city in the morning, hundreds of people including businessmen and relatives of the victims took to the streets in Sanarpara area at noon, demanding immediate rescue of the “abductee”.
Vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway remained suspended for an hour till 1pm as locals put barricades at different points, protesting the abduction.
The protesters withdrew themselves from the highway around 1pm after issuing an ultimatum to the lawmen.
They also threatened to take a tough line if the law enforcers failed to rescue Saiful within the given time.
Police detained Hannan for interrogation.
Earlier, the bodies of Narayanganj city councillor Nazrul Islam, senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and five others were found floating in the Shitalakkhya river on Wednesday and Thursday.
The seven were kidnapped in broad daylight in Narayanganj on Sunday.
The incident led to removal of several top administrative officials of Narayanganj, including the deputy commissioner, police superintendent and RAB commander.
Missing of Buying House Official
Meanwhile, the family of a buying house employee who lived in Siddhirganj alleged that he had been missing since April 30.
The family of the missing buying house official, Taiubur Rahman, 37, alleged that Taibur had been missing since April 30.
The abductee’s father, Ekhlasur Rahman, said on the fateful day his son went to his workplace in the city’s Mirpur.
His cellphone has since remained switched off.
On April 16, BELA Chief Syeda Rizwana Hasan’s husband Abu Bakar Siddique was abducted from Fatulla, Narayanganj.
He was released 30 hours later.
No Headway in Abduction cases
Newly appointed Narayanganj Police Superintendent Kha Muhid Uddin yesterday admitted that they were yet to trace the killers of the seven who were abducted and killed.
“But the investigation is going on fast. We are taking into consideration the victims’ social, political and economical positions in the interest of investigation,” he said.
He said police had also been interrogating some suspects.
They had also talked to the wife of deceased ward councilor to find any clue.
About Saiful’s abduction, Muhid Uddin said they would try to rescue him in the shortest possible time.
Meanwhile, additional Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dhaka Range) Khandokar Golam Faruque said they had contacted the Border Guard Bangladesh and the immigration police to make sure that no suspect could flee the country.
Home boss wants calm first
About the abductions and murders of seven individuals, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan said the law enforcers would not be able to arrest the killers till the situation in Narayanganj turned normal.
“We understand that if we can arrest 2-4 of the accused, the situation in Narayanganj will turn normal. But those who we want to arrest have fled. So, we need to get the situation calm first,” he told the Dhaka Tribune over phone.
Asked, why the criminals could not be arrested by this time, he said the lawmen were trying.
“It is wrong if you think we did not try. Since the beginning, the abductions have been the highest priority,” he said.
Lawyers call hartal, BNP backs
The Narayanganj District Lawyers’ Association called a dawn-to-dusk strike tomorrow to protest against the abductions and murders.
On the other hand the BNP has lent its moral support to the strikers.
BNP Spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday told this to the press at the party’s Gulshan office yesterday.
“Our lawyers will be there during the hartal.”
Bar Council Announces Programmes
The Bar Council will observe various programmes including procession with black flags on May 4, protest rally on May 5 and May 7, human chain on May 6 and token hunger strike on May 8 in all Bar Associations across the country.
The institute Vice-Chairman, Khandker Mahbub Hossain, also an adviser to the BNP chairperson, announced the programmes at a press briefing at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium yesterday.
