A grocery shopkeeper who was abducted from a road in Lohagara upazila of Chattogram and held captive with his hands and feet bound for four days was rescued from Cox's Bazar on Saturday night (Sept 29). The victim, Rashedul Islam, was rescued from the Baharchara area of Teknaf upazila and is currently undergoing treatment at the Lohagara Upazila Health Complex, following an ordeal that involved a demand for Tk 5 lakh in ransom and near-starvation on a diet consisting solely of bananas and bread.
The abduction took place on Wednesday night (Sept 26) at approximately 11:30 PM as Rashedul was returning home on a rickshaw after closing his grocery store in the Adhunagar Bazar area. According to case details and family statements, four to five unidentified perpetrators intercepted the rickshaw in the Jamindarpara area, assaulted the rickshaw puller, and forcefully bundled Rashedul into a CNG-driven auto-rickshaw, whisking him away toward Amirabad. The rickshaw puller, Md Amin, immediately notified Rashedul's family, prompting an urgent search.
Rashedul's wife, Umme Aiman, recounted that her final conversation with her husband occurred at 11:18 PM on the night of the incident when he called to ask if anything was needed at home before closing his shop. She stated that after learning a bound man had been discovered in Teknaf's Baharchara on Saturday night, the family investigated and confirmed the identity of the victim. Rashedul was subsequently brought back from Teknaf and admitted to the hospital, where his wife noted he remains drowsy and struggling to speak coherently.
Recounting his harrowing experience to his family, Rashedul stated that his captors blindfolded him immediately after forcing him into the auto-rickshaw, rendering him unconscious with an unknown substance. Upon regaining consciousness, he found himself confined to a room with his limbs bound, receiving only bananas and bread as sustenance throughout the four-day captivity while his abductors demanded a ransom of Tk 5 lakh from his relatives.
Despite the family reporting the disappearance to the local law enforcement authorities, Umme Aiman alleged that the Lohagara police initially did not record a formal case, advising them instead to submit a written complaint. When questioned regarding the incident, Lohagara Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Abdullah stated that law enforcement has been informed of the missing businessman's recovery and is treating the matter with the utmost investigative priority.
