Police detained a man for primary questioning after an alleged attempt of kidnapping the bureau chief of Somoy Television in Barishal city on Sunday noon. The detainee is Shahin Hossain Mallik, owner of Mumitu Community Center, the location where the miscreants tried to kidnap the journalist Apurba Apu, said Haridas Nag, Inspector of Barishal Metropolitan Detective Branch of police. The incident occurred around 3 pm in front of Mumitu Community Center at Shitla Khola area in the city. Apurba Apu said he was returning to office on foot after covering an accident news and as he reached near the community center a man on a rickshaw started scolding him for his work. Also read: Five cops suspended for assaulting journos in Chattogram “He attacked me and we had a scuffle. As I ran toward Mumitu Community Center another man tried to take me inside a white private car but I managed to flee,” he said. The journalist reported the matter to police and said he has no idea why the men attacked him. A witness on condition of anonymity told UNB that former local Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader Zehad, Mamun, and Alam were among the people who tried to kidnap the journalist. Also read: CRAB leadership condemns attacks on journos during New Market clashes Monjur Hossain, Deputy Commissioner of DB police (BMP) said the matter is under investigation and soon the accused will be arrested.

Members of Bangladeh Chhatra League allegedly kidnapped a male student in Satkhira on Sunday and tortured and harassed him by recording his nude video and demanded Tk 2 lakh as ransom. The victim is Shoeb Aziz Tonmoy, 20, a university admission test examinee and son of Sheikh Azizur Rahman from Jatpur village in Tala sadar upazila. Tonmoy’s father Azizur Rahman accused Syed Akib, 25, Organizational Secretary of Upazila BCL, Soumitra Chakraborty, 32, Organizational Secretary of Upazila Sramik League, and BCL members JR Sumon, 25, Joy, 24, and Nahid Hasan Utsho of being involved with the incident. Azizur Rahman said around 1am, Nahid, who was an acquaintance of Tonmoy, asked him to come in front of Tala Government College over phone and as he went there the alleged BCL members took him inside a room in the college. “They had beaten him, shaved his head, and recorded a video of him after removing his clothes. At one point they called my wife and asked for Tk 2 lakh as ransom, claiming they kidnapped Tonmoy. She could hear Tonmoy’s cry over the phone call,” said Tonmoy’s father. READ: RU residential student ‘ousted’ by BCL men from Sher-E-Bangla Hall Around evening Tonmoy was rescued from the college and was taken to Tala Hospital. “As I went to lodge a complaint at Tala police station, one of the accused’s father called me and threatened me not to do it,” said Azizur Rahman. Tonmoy’ s father suspects the accused wanted to snatch the new motorcycle he bought for Tonmoy.   Meanwhile, Abul Kalam, Officer-in-Charge of Tala police station said, “All the alleged accused remained absconding since the incident. The complaint was not recorded as the victim’s father did not submit a copy of his Voter ID card with it but I have no information that they were threatened.” Tonmoy said, “All his kidnappers were BCL activists and the room they took him to what seemed like a torture cell in the Tala College student dormitory with belt, sticks and arms.” However, Sheik Humayun Kabir, incumbent principal of Tala College said he has no idea about such an incident neither about BCL men having any torture cell inside the college. Ashiqur Rahman Ashiq, President of Satkhria District BCL unit said, “If evidence of any BCL members being involved in the incident is found, organizational actions will be taken against them. But no one yet informed us about such an incident.” Md Mostafizur Rahman, Superintendent of Satkhira police said the matter is under investigation none of the perpetrators will be spared.

A van driver and runner of Sundarban Courier Service have been kidnapped allegedly by some armed indigenous youths from Ramgarh upazila in Khagrachari on Saturday night. The kidnapped staffers of the courier service are Md Abbas, driver of the van from Bhola, and runner Md Al Amin from Noakhali. The kidnappers however released the assistant of the driver Solayman during the incident. Also read: 4 kidnapped fishermen rescued in Ctg, 5 robbers held Md Salauddin, manager of Khagrachari office of Sundarban Courier Service, said: “The kidnappers at first demanded Tk 3 lakh calling from the driver’s personal number, later they raised it to Tk 5 lakh.” The covered van was heading for Dhaka with postal cargo from Khagrachari sadar upazila when it was stopped by some seven or eight armed indigenous youths on motorcycles near Datarampara point on Ramgarh-Jaliyapara road, Solayman told UNB. “They took the van a bit inside the Datarampara road, and took Abbas and Al Amin on their motorcycles on gunpoint, as we failed to show any receipt of having paid extortion fee,” he said. A source wishing anonymity said, “The courier office authority held a meeting with the leaders of the kidnapping gang but as they could not agree on the amount of ransom the staff were not released. Also the kidnappers stopped contacting from Sunday noon.” Mohammad Shamsujjaman, Officer-in-Charge of Ramgarh police station, said the van was recovered from the spot and taken under custody. Also read: 2 held for raping minor girl after kidnap in Barishal “Law enforcing forces are conducting drives to rescue the kidnaped staffers but no complaint has been lodged yet with police yet in this regard,” said the OC.

Charges have been pressed against six members of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) over kidnapping a man to demand ransom money. Chattogram Senior Judicial magistrate Najmun Nahar accepted the charge sheet submitted by police on Sunday and granted bail to the six accused until the trial in the case begins on January 26, said Inspector Humayun Kabir of Chattogram district police. Earlier on December 4, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), submitted the charge sheet against the six accused. Also read: 3 cops suspended as Rohingya man flees police custody in Ctg The accused are, Constable Morshed Billah, bodyguard of CMP commissioner, Constable Md Masud, bodyguard of CMP Deputy Commissioner (Detective branch), Constable Shakil Khan and Eskandor deployed at Dampara Reserve Force Office, Constable Monirul Islam, computer operator of Assitant police Commissiner’s Karnaphuli office, Constable Abdul Nabi from Detective Branch (North). According to the case, on February 3 midnight, eight youths on four motorcycles abducted a man named Abdul Mannan from Purbo Bairag village under Anwara police station. Thecyouths identified themselves as police and one of them was wearing a jacket with DB (Detective Branch) written on it. They took Mannan to the Bhellapara area in Patia and demanded Tk 10 lakh to acquit him from the many cases filed against his name at the police station. Also read: Mob surrounds police station in Rangpur accusing cops of beating a person to death Mannan was released later after he paid them Tk 1,80,000. Mannan heard the name of Morshed from their conversation and filed a case in this regard on February 7 at Anwara police station. Finding proof of those accused constables being involved in the incident CMP authority filed a departmental case after suspending them.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Friday night rescued a Class VIII student who was allegedly kidnapped from her grandparents' house in Lochangarh village of Natore Sadar upazila. The kidnapper, identified as Anik Hossain, was also detained during the raid at a house in the Ekdala area of Natore Sadar upazila, officials said on Saturday. READ:  Kidnapped schoolboy found dead in Meherpur; 2 held Natore RAB deputy commander Rafiqul Islam said that the girl was kidnapped on December 2 from her grandparents' house. "Acting on a complaint filed by the girl's family, the RAB conducted an operation, rescued her and held the kidnapper." READ:  Woman kidnapped from Dhaka kitchen market, raped by 3

A woman has alleged that she was kidnapped and raped by three men in the capital's Pallabi area last week. However, police are yet to lodge an FIR in connection with the complaint. The alleged crime occurred around 5pm on Tuesday, when the woman was passing through the Mirpur-11 kitchen market area. According to the woman, a resident of Mirpur, two men sprayed some liquid on her face and forcibly took her to a nearby house, where another man joined them. READ: 31-yr-old raped by three in Sylhet Later, the trio took turns to rape her. After the alleged crime, the three had threatened to kill the woman if she revealed her ordeal to anyone. Initially the woman chose not to tell her family members about the rape due to the fear and stigma surrounding sexual violence in the society. Later she confided in her husband. When contacted, the officer-in-charge of the Pallabi police station, Parvez Hossain, told UNB that the woman had come to the police station late on Tuesday evening.  "At the time, she told that she was kidnapped by two men, but didn't mention about the rape. On Friday, she visited the police station again and alleged that she was raped too," the OC said. READ: Rape attempt on Pori Moni: Boat Club expels Nasir from EC When asked why no FIR has been lodged yet, the officer responded: "We are probing the complaint." Bangladesh's rape epidemic Sexual assaults on women continue unabated in Bangladesh, despite the government introducing death penalty for rapes last year. Earlier last month, a police headquarters report said that 26,695 rape cases were filed across the country in the past five years. Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped last year alone, but only 683 police cases had been filed. Also, 116 survivors were six years old or below. Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported last year and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data. However, ASK's data is just the tip of the iceberg, according to aid agencies, who report that most women are too afraid to report rape. In October 2020, the country was rocked by protests after a woman was allegedly attacked and raped in Noakhali. READ: Chargesheet filed against 2 leaders of quota movement in DU student's rape case; Nur exempted In November last year, Bangladesh introduced capital punishment for rape, following days of protests against sexual violence against women in several cities across the country. But human rights organisations say the move will not solve the country's rape crisis, as the survivors of the heinous crime are often stigmatised in the society.

Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last week from a boarding school in the northwestern Zamfara state have been released, the state’s governor said Tuesday.