Abduction, secret detention!

A businessman has alleged that he was abducted by a group of people from outside a bank in Dhaka’s Rupnagar area, kept in secret detention for an extended period and later implicated in a criminal case in what he described as an attempt to settle a business dispute.

Raising the allegation at a press conference on Monday, Dhaka-14 MP Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman described the incident as the second alleged enforced disappearance in his constituency since the political changeover.

He demanded the immediate arrest and interrogation of those responsible, alleging that state machinery had been used to pursue private business interests.

Police, however, rejected the allegations, saying a firearm had been recovered from the businessman’s possession and that legal action had been taken in accordance with the law.

Businessman Mohammad Shamim Khan, who claims to have been abducted, was present at the press conference in Rupnagar and described his alleged ordeal.

According to Shamim, a group of people picked him up from outside a UCB Bank branch in his neighbourhood between 8:15pm and 8:30pm on 26 August.

He said he later realised that he had been taken to a Detective Branch (DB) office before being transferred to another location while blindfolded.

When he asked why he had been detained, his captors allegedly told him that DC Rakib had ordered his detention, Shamim said. He claimed they threatened to kill him, amputate one of his legs and implicate him in an arms case.

The people holding him also claimed to be acting on instructions from higher authorities, he alleged.
During his confinement, Shamim said, he was repeatedly questioned about the sources of financing for his business, the people supporting him and how he had accumulated his wealth.

He further alleged that his captors told him he would remain in danger if he was released but would be considered innocent if he stayed in detention. They also advised him to shut down his business if he survived the ordeal, he claimed.

Shamim said he was subsequently taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, where his leg was bandaged. Alleging that the incident had been staged, he claimed photographs were taken and sent elsewhere before he was implicated in a criminal case.

His wife and several local representatives were also present at the press conference.

Mirpur Division DB Additional Deputy Commissioner SAM Fazl-e-Khuda Polash denied the allegations. Police maintained that a firearm had been recovered from Shamim’s possession and that action had been taken on the basis of that recovery.