Law and order
Two arrested for holding man hostage, demanding ransom in Rajshahi
Translated by Desk Report
Rajpara police have arrested two people, including a woman, for allegedly inviting a man to a home in Rajshahi city, holding him hostage and demanding ransom. Police recovered three non-judicial stamps bearing the victim’s signature and Tk 26,000 withdrawn from Nagad and bKash accounts, and seized another Tk 1.08 lakh.
The arrestees are Sultana, 39, of the city’s Dingadoba Bank Colony area, and Md Aslam Ali, 55, of Baneshwar Thandarpara in Rajshahi’s Puthia upazila. Both were living in the city neighbourhood.
According to police and the case statement, the victim, Md Monowar Hossain Manu, became acquainted with Sultana over the phone about two months earlier and developed a friendship with her. At around 3:30pm on October 4, Sultana invited him to her home. He went to her rented home in Dingadoba Bank Colony at around 4pm.
The complaint alleges that after he entered, Sultana and two other people already at the home shut the door and held him hostage. Two of them identified themselves as Detective Branch (DB) police officers. They then demanded Tk 3 lakh for his release. When he refused to pay, they beat and injured him and forced him to call family members to arrange the money.
At one point, a total of Tk 26,700 was sent to the victim’s Nagad and bKash accounts. The case statement says Tk 26,300 was later withdrawn through an agent.
It also says that when the victim refused to pay more, they intimidated him into signing three non-judicial stamps worth Tk 100 each. After his release, he discussed the matter with his family and filed a case with Rajpara Police Station.
As part of the investigation, police raided Sultana’s rented home in Dingadoba Bank Colony at around 4:45pm on October 5 and arrested her and Aslam Ali.
Police recovered two smartphones, a basic mobile phone, three non-judicial stamps bearing the victim’s signature and Tk 26,000 withdrawn from Nagad and bKash accounts from their possession. They also seized another Tk 1.08 lakh from a shopping bag that Sultana pointed out. The money recovered and seized totalled Tk 1.34 lakh.
Police said Aslam Ali faces a case under the Penal Code at Puthia Police Station. Both arrestees have been produced before a court, and police have sought their remand for a thorough investigation.
