Photo: Collected
A wave of fear gripped the people of Teknaf upazila, particularly in Baharchhara Union’s Boro Deil area, in Cox's Bazar as reports of kidnappings continued to surface.
Syed Hossain, a mason and the son of the late Abbas Mia, was abducted on Friday evening.
According to Syed Hossain's family, armed criminals descended from the hills, fired blank shots, entered their house, and took him away at gunpoint.
Local resident Nur Hossain said, “After Maghrib prayers, a gang of hill robbers came down, held us at gunpoint, and kidnapped one person. We are living in constant fear.”
“Shots were fired in the evening, and shortly after, we heard that someone was abducted from their home. Earlier that day, two others were reportedly called out and detained in the hills,” said Nurul Islam, member for the ward no. 8 of Baharchhara Union Parishad.
Shovon Kumar Saha, in-charge of Baharchhara Investigation Center, said, “We responded immediately upon hearing about the gunfire. The matter is being treated with utmost seriousness, and efforts to rescue the abductee are ongoing.”
According to locals, at least 30 people have been abducted in Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar over the past few days. While 26 have returned—either through rescue operations or by paying ransoms—four individuals remain in captivity. Among them, the kidnappers have demanded a ransom of Tk 10 lakh from a grocer named Jasim.
Locals claim that abductions and ransom demands are routine in the hilly areas of Teknaf. At least 10-12 gangs, comprising over 150 armed members, are involved in this kidnapping. These groups are equipped with sophisticated automatic weapons and law enforcement's efforts are often limited to securing the release of hostages after ransom payments.
A member of the Baharchhara Union, seeking anonymity, said, “People in this area are too scared to leave their homes after dusk. In the past five months, there have been over 50 abductions in my area alone. Most victims return after paying ransoms, and out of fear of being killed, many do not even report incidents to the police.”
Victims and their families alleged that law enforcement often fails to uncover the root causes of abductions. They showed some activity when incidents occur but rarely make progress in investigations or arrests.
Himel Roy, inspector (investigation) of Teknaf Model Police Station, told The Messenger “With the help of technology, we are trying to locate abductees."
"From January to December in 2024, we rescued 138 kidnapped individuals and arrested several suspects in connection with 20 cases,” said officials.
Additional superintendent of police Mohammad Kamruzzaman, law officer of Cox's Bazar RAB-15, told The Daily Messenger, “RAB has intensified intelligence surveillance in the remote hills."
"In several operations, many criminals have been arrested. On December 31, 2024 a prolonged operation led to the rescue of 18 abductees from a forest," he said.
However, the RAB officer informed that as they continued the operation, the kidnappers released seven persons from their confinement.
"Efforts are ongoing to rescue the remaining victims,” Mohammad Kamruzzaman added.
Messenger/Tushar
