Police arrested three individuals for allegedly kidnapping and torturing a CNG-run autorickshaw driver while posing as Detective Branch (DB) officers in Bogra.

According to a press release issued by the District Detective Branch (DB) on Friday, the victim, Rafiqul Islam, 43, was forcibly abducted by a group of unidentified men on Wednesday night. He was held captive at a residence in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, where he was stripped at gunpoint and tortured. The kidnappers also looted Tk 15,000 from his possession.

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The arrestees were identified as Md. Sajib Ahmed, 32, Md. Lojim Pramanik, 40, and Md. Sohan Sheikh, 18. They were apprehended during a special raid on a two-story house in the city’s Puran Bogra area on Thursday night.

The captors then contacted the victim's wife, Hazera Begum, posing as DB police. They demanded a ransom of Tk 1 lakh within 20 minutes to avoid "sending him to court." When the family hesitated, the kidnappers played recordings of Rafiqul’s cries and screams over the phone.

Unable to pay, Hazera Begum reported the matter verbally to the DB office on Thursday night. Acting on the complaint, a DB team raided the home of a fugitive suspect named Mehedi Hasan Shihab, arresting the three suspects and rescuing the driver. Police also recovered four mobile phones and Tk 2,000 in cash from the scene.

Rafiqul was rescued with injuries and provided primary treatment at Bogra Mohammad Ali Hospital .

Md. Iqbal Bahar, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Bogra District DB, said legal action against the arrested suspects is currently underway.