A grocery shop owner was reportedly abducted from his own nosiness establishment in Kushtia Sadar upazila on early Monday and demanded Tk 15 lakh as ransom.
Following the incident, police have taken the local Union Parishad (UP) chairman into custody for questioning.
The incident took place at Paschim Abdalpur village in Kushtia Sadar upazila.
The victim was identified as Md. Jahabox, 38, son of the late Kuddus Ali of the same village. He ran a wholesale grocery shop named “Pranto Store” near his home.
According to Jahabox’s wife, Sathi Khatun, an unknown man came to their house around 1:00 am claiming to need saline and called her husband. Jahabox went outside, but did not return after a long time.
When Sathi tried to open the door, she realized it had been latched from outside. Hearing her screams, her mother-in-law came and unlocked the door. At the shop, they found the shutter open and the cash drawer empty. A letter was discovered on a bench in front of the shop, glued in an envelope. The letter demanded Tk 15 lakh in ransom to be delivered within five days, threatening to dispose of the body if the demand was not met or if police were informed.
Jahabox’s son Pranto mentioned that Monday was the day of the store’s annual account settlement (Halkhata), and customers had paid back weekly dues earlier that day. An estimated Tk 400,000 to 500,000 had been kept under the cash drawer, but that money was also missing.
On Monday morning, police detained Abdalpur Union Parishad Chairman Ali Haider Swapan for questioning. He is the vice-president of the local unit of the Awami League and the brother of Ali Reza Siddique Kalu, a regional leader of the JSD Gono Bahini.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Islamic University Police Station, Mehedi Hasan, confirmed the incident.
“Based on the content of the letter, it appears to be a case of abduction. We’re in constant contact with the victim’s family and are working to rescue him.”
As of 6:00 pm, when this report was filed, Jahabox had not yet been found, and the detained UP chairman had not disclosed any useful information.
A team from Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-12), Kushtia unit led by its Camp Commander Sudipto Sarker also visited the scene.
Aman/