4, including 3 cops, detained over abduction of 2 businessmen in Shariatpur
The detained cops are Kaushik Ahmed Setu, 30, Kausar Talukder, 29, Rubayet Mir, 27
Four individuals, including three police constables, were detained for their alleged involvement in abducting two businessmen and demanding ransom in Shariatpur.
The incident occurred yesterday night (27 March) in the district's Damudya upazila.
The detained cops are Kaushik Ahmed Setu, 30, Kausar Talukder, 29, Rubayet Mir, 27, and their accomplice Sharif Hossain, 35, Shariatpur Superintendent of Police Nazrul Islam told The Business Standard.
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"Among them, Rubayet Mir is a dismissed police constable, while Kaushik and Kawsar are currently posted at Khulna and Chattogram, respectively. They were caught red-handed by locals while attempting to collect the ransom," he said.
The accused were severely beaten by an enraged mob before being rescued by the police and taken to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital for treatment. A case will be filed against them, the officer added.
Locals said a gang of people arrived in a microbus and a motorcycle at Darul Aman Bazar and blocked the victims' path, attacked them and forcefully dragged them into the microbus. They were abducted on their way home from the bazar around 9pm yesterday.
The victims are Mohammad Jewel Sardar, 32, and Faisal Sardar, 24, cloth traders of the bazar.
According to the victims, the abductors posed as police officers, handcuffed them, and threatened them with a gun, demanding Tk20 lakh as ransom. When the traders refused to comply, the gang physically assaulted them using iron rods, punches, and kicks.
At one point, the victims negotiated the amount down to Tk10 lakh. Later, the abductors took them to Lakepara of nearby Madaripur, where they transferred Tk4 lakh through bKash and Nagad.
However, when the abductors demanded the remaining money, the victims took them to Damudya Bus Stand.
Around 1am (Friday), when the kidnappers arrived at the bus stand, the victims started shouting for help, responding to it, locals quickly intervened, stopped the microbus and detained the cops.
The suspects were beaten before being handed over to the police.
During interrogation, detainee Rubayet said, "Kausar is our boss. All the ransom money is with him. I don't know anything else."
Damudya Police Station's Officer-in-Charge (OC) Hafizur Rahman Manik said they took the detainees, including the cops, under their custody, and efforts were underway to detain others.
Legal action against the detainees was taken in this regard, added the OC.
