Police have returned a six-year-old boy to his mother after rescuing him from abductors. He was held for 16 days.
Kadamtali police recovered Mohammad Mizan and handed him over to his family yesterday, said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media and publication) of the DMP. He said Mizan was abducted on April 14 as the nation was celebrating Pahela Baishakh.
Police also arrested four people in connection with the abduction – Joy Ahmed Sujon, 22; Shafiqul Islam, 36; Rafiqul Islam Rasel, 19; and Rahima Akther Rahi, 28. They planned the abduction for days in order to get the ransom money, the DC said while addressing a media briefing.
Mizan lives in Jurain, Alambagh, with his mother Sajeda Akther. His father Shahin Mollah is an expatriate in Oman. The mastermind of the abduction, Sujon, used to visit Mizan’s house with Rahi, Mizan’s paternal aunt.
On April 14, Sujon went to the house to chat with Mizan and at one point took the boy outside, saying he would buy him toys. Rasel was waiting on the ground floor of the building and as Mizan, accompanied by Sujon, came down, he was taken to Tongi.
While in Tongi, Sujon contacted his relative Shafiq and introduced Mizan to him as his nephew. Sujon, who said Mizan’s mother had died, urged Shafiq to take Mizan to a place where the boy could get some fresh air.
Shafiq took Mizan to Faridpur and kept him at the house of his father-in-law Hafiz Chowdhury. The boy stayed there for 11 days and Sujon gave Shafiq Tk500 every day to take care of the boy.
Meanwhile, the abductors demanded a ransom of Tk1,000,000 from Mizan’s family and threatened that they would kill him if the money was not paid.
Kadamtali police, along with members of the Detective Branch of police, were investigating the abduction and nabbed Rahi in Shibchar.
Based on Rahi’s information which she revealed during interrogation, police arrested Sujon and others and rescued Mizan from Faridpur.
“For a few days, they tortured me but then became friendly. I was given a bat and ball to play with. They also gave me food whenever I demanded but would beat me if I wanted to know about my mother,” Mizan told the Dhaka Tribune.
