Mason Shaid Hoshin, son of late Abbas Mia, was kidnapped in Bardil area of Bharshara Union in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. His family said that on Friday evening (January 3), armed terrorists came down the hill, opened fire, entered the house, put a gun to his head and took him to the hill.
Local resident Nour Hussein said: “After sunset, a group of hill robbers descended on the area and held a hostage at gunpoint.” I also suffer from insecurity in this incident.
Nurul Islam, a UP member of Ward No. 8 in Bacharchara, said: “There was a pointless shooting incident in the evening. Then I heard news that one person had been taken from the house. Before that, I found out that two other people had been summoned and detained in the mountains during the day.
“I reached the spot after receiving information about the shooting,” said police inspector Shobhan Kumar Saha, in-charge of Basharchara Investigation Centre. Look at it seriously. In addition, the operation to rescue the kidnapped people is still ongoing.
It should be noted that 30 people were kidnapped in Teknaf during the past few days. It is said that 26 people returned with the operation and the ransom carried out by law enforcement forces, but four people are still in the grip of the kidnapping gang. According to local sources, Mudukani is demanding Tk 10,000 from Jasim. There is extreme fear among the locals and the locals have demanded a raid.
Local residents complain that kidnapping and ransom extortion are a daily occurrence in these mountainous areas of Teknaf. At least one and a half hundred members of 10 to 12 robber groups are involved in these kidnappings. They have modern automatic weapons. After kidnapping, rescue by ransom or otherwise is limited to the responsibility of law enforcement agencies. Therefore, although kidnapping and ransom collection in the hands of thieves is out of control, there is no permanent solution. This increases fear and anger among local residents.
“People in this area do not leave their homes after the evening for fear of kidnapping,” a member of Teknaf’s Bacharchara union said on condition of anonymity. In the past five months there have been more than half a hundred kidnappings in my area. Most of them returned with ransom. Kidnapping victims do not want to go to the police station for fear of being killed.
Victims complain that police and other law enforcement agencies are unable to solve most kidnapping cases. They only show some activity when the kidnapping occurs. After the incident, no progress was made in the investigation or arrest of the perpetrators.
In this regard, the acting head of the Teknaf Model Police Station, Muhammad Ghias Al-Din, said: The police are trying to find out the whereabouts of the kidnappers with the help of information technology. We were able to rescue 138 abductees from January to December 24 last year. Many criminals were arrested in 20 cases.
Captain Cox’s Bazar RAB-15 Lt. Colonel His Majesty King Sajjad Hussain said: RAB’s intelligence surveillance in Durgam Pahar has been increased. The RAB raid team also arrested several people in several raids. Last Tuesday (December 31), 18 people kidnapped in the forest were rescued alive in a long operation. The process of saving the rest is still ongoing.