Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) handed over bank manager Nizam Uddin on Friday after being rescued from his abductors.

Imran Khan, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of the RAB headquarters media wing, confirmed the matter on Friday morning.

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Later, RAB (Legal and Media Wing) Director Commander Khandaker Al Moin briefed reporters at the Bandarban District Council Auditorium at 11:00 am on Friday.

Mentioning that there was no financial transaction to rescue the bank manager, the RAB official said, “So far, the operation has been stopped due to negotiations with the Peace Committee. We believed in the doctrine that all the demands of the KNF would be resolved through the Peace Committee."

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“But on the night of April 2, bank robbery in Ruma upazila, abduction of manager, 14 weapons from Ansar and police, and snatching of mobile phones from worshippers entering the mosque, all avenues of peace dialogue were closed," he said.

He added that armed groups are carrying out such acts to prove their existence and capability. In the same way, attacks have been carried out in Thanchi. He said the operation of law enforcement agencies, including RAB, is going on.

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The KNF had previously carried out various activities for the training of militants, collecting weapons, and financial prosperity here. Law enforcement stopped it, Commander Moin also said.

Meanwhile, the exchange of gunfire between police, BGB, and KNF in Thanchi upazila last night stopped at 11:00 pm. No casualties were reported in the incident. Thanchi Upazila Chairman Thoaihla Maung said the situation in the upazila is normal at the moment.

Earlier on Thursday night, the RAB members rescued the bank manager from the Bathel Para area of Bandarban through mediation, he said.

On Thursday afternoon, Nizam Uddin’s wife, Nazmul Nahar, said the armed separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) demanded Tk 15 lakh from his family as ransom.

The separatist group kidnapped the Sonali Bank’s Ruma upazila branch manager on Tuesday, April 2, and tried to loot Tk 1.5 crore from the vault of the Ruma branch. Unable to take the money, they kidnapped the bank manager.
They also carried out robberies at Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank branches in Thanchi upazila of Bandarban on Wednesday.