A NOMINATION seeker Abu Bakar, PhD student Enamul Haque Mony and former RAB-7 commanding officer Hasinur Rahman Duke were reportedly abducted from Dhaka on November 18, November 22 and August 8 respectively but ‘ransoms’ were collected from Chandraghona in Rangamati.
At least three of the mobile numbers to which the ransoms were sent through mobile banking services by the families of Hasinur and Enamul matched and the locations of all the phones were at Chandraghona on November 23. The Detectives confirmed that the family of BNP nomination seeker Abu Bakar of Jashore sent ransom to 12 numbers located at Chandraghona on November 19.
The ‘abductors’ started calling families of the three victims after midnight and took highest Tk 1.7 lakh in ransom, the investigators and families said. The investigators of the case said that they were still analysing CCTV footages collected from around the hotel where Abu Bakar was seen for the last at about 8:35pm on November 18. The investigators recorded testimonies of the family members of Abu Bakar and examined the call record of his phone.
The money sent in ransom was cashed out at Chandraghona but the users of the phones gave their addresses in different areas including Chapainawabganj, families and investigators said.
Officer-in-Charge of Chandraghona Police Station Ashraf Uddin said he was not aware of any such group operating in his area. Rights activist Nur Khan Liton, former executive director of rights group Ain o Salish Kendra, said that the perpetrators might have wanted to divert the attention in the name of taking ransom.
There are several gangs of criminal who are operating in city and elsewhere in the country impersonating them as law enforcers. Abu Bakar’s body was found floating in the Buriganga river though his family members already paid ransom. Whoever the killers were, they should be caught irrespective of their political affiliations, if any.
Once again we have the curious cases like enforced disappearances brought to light. When even a former commander of the elite RAB forces can disappear then what hope does an ordinary citizen have? The authorities need to be very prompt to solve each case or else the numbers of such victims will continue to grow.
