Staff Reporter :
A 35-year-old man from Kishoreganj’s Katiadi, Md Romel Mia, was promised a good job with a handsome salary in Libya by a migrant trafficking gang.
The gang demanded Tk 2 lakh initially and later Tk 12 lakh as ransom after Romel was taken hostage in Libya.
The family was forced to pay Tk 2 lakh initially and Tk 2 lakh more after the gang started torturing Romel and making video calls to the family.
The gang, led by Rahmat Ullah, took Romel from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka to Dubai on a tourist visa, then to Rome, and finally to Libya via Cairo.
The family was informed that Romel was being held hostage and that they would not be released unless they paid the ransom.
The family gathered Tk 2 lakh more and deposited it in Rahmat’s account, but after receiving the money, Rahmat stopped communicating with Romel’s family.
The gang then started making video calls to Romel’s parents and cousin, showing them how they were torturing Romel in Libya.
The family filed a case with Raipura Police Station, accusing four named and four to five unnamed people.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) in Narsingdi is investigating the case and trying to rescue the victim.
The PBI has arrested the gang leader, Sohel, and his cohorts, Wasim Hossain and Akaris Miah, after tracing the cell phone number of the Bangladeshi offenders.
Romel was eventually rescued with the efforts of both PBI and the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya.
The PBI is investigating the matter further and has found that Romel saw 11 more Bangladeshi hostages in Libya.
The case is ongoing, and the PBI is verifying bank accounts and financial transactions obtained from the arrestees.