Young Man Returns Home After Three Days of Torture in Teknaf Hills, Ransom of Tk 400,000 Paid

Local correspondent

The rampage of a kidnapping gang in Teknaf, a border upazila of Cox’s Bazar, is not stopping. After being held captive and brutally tortured in a hill shelter for three consecutive days, a young man named Md. Rafiq (40) has finally been freed from the hands of armed terrorists by paying a ransom of 4 lakh taka.

On Friday afternoon, October 23, the kidnappers left him tied up and bleeding at the foot of a hill in Teknaf’s South Shilkhali area. Upon receiving the news, his relatives rescued him in critical condition and quickly admitted him to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital.

The freed Md. Rafiq is the eldest son of Mumtaz Ahmed of South Shilkhali area of ​​Teknaf.

According to family and local sources, three days ago, when Rafiq went to tend to his betel nut garden, a group of armed miscreants took him hostage and took him to the deep hills of Teknaf. The day after the kidnapping, the terrorists called Rafiq’s family’s mobile phone, threatening to kill him and demanding a ransom of Tk 5 million.

Rafiq’s relatives said that they started negotiating with the kidnappers out of fear for their lives. At one point, the gang agreed to release Rafiq for 4 lakh taka. Rafiq was released only after the ransom was paid by using the money he had saved and loans.

Rafiq, who is undergoing treatment at the hospital, is currently in critical condition. He was kept on a half-starved diet for three consecutive days and brutally tortured with heavy weapons and sticks. There are deep injuries and signs of torture on multiple parts of his body. Doctors in charge of the treatment said that he is seriously ill due to excessive bleeding and mental trauma.

Confirming the matter, Abu Sayeed, in-charge of the Baharchhara Police Investigation Center, said, “We have received information that the kidnapped person has returned from the hilly area and has been admitted to the hospital. The police are monitoring the matter seriously. However, the police do not officially know anything about the ransom transaction.”

The kidnapping, ransom demands, and torture of ordinary people by armed terrorist groups based in the hills of Teknaf have recently taken a horrific turn. According to local residents, people who go to the mountainous border areas for agricultural work or daily chores are now living in extreme fear.

Local civil society has strongly demanded an immediate special operation by joint forces in these hilly hideouts.