15 abductees rescued from Teknaf hill area, two held

Police have rescued 15 abductees, including six children, in a special operation in the remote hills of Cox's Bazar's Teknaf. They have also detained two people who law enforcers have identified as members of the kidnapping ring, reports bdnews24.com.

The raid occurred from 11:30am to 1:30pm on Friday in the Kachhapia Hill area in Ward No. 8 of Baharchara Union, said Mohammad Rahmat Ullah, superintendent of Cox's Bazar police.

All 15 of the abductees are boys and men. Five of them are Bangladeshi, while the other 10 are Rohingya.

The detainees are brothers Md Harun, 25, and Nur Mohammad, 19.

Rahmat Ullah said a special team of Teknaf police conducted a raid near the peak of the hill behind the home of local Nurul Islam Member based on a tip-off.

"Ten to 15 of them fled, but we were able to detain two members of the gang of kidnappers. The 15 abductees held hostage in the hill hideout have been rescued."

The superintendent said that the abductees said they are residents of different parts of Teknaf and Ukhiya and the Rohingya refugee camps. They say they were forcibly taken by a gang of 16-17 kidnappers so they could be held for ransom.

"The kidnapping gang has been working for a long time to commit various crimes, including kidnapping Bangladeshis and displaced Rohingya for ransom," the police official said.

A case is being filed in this regard, he added.

According to Cox's Bazar police, 208 people have been abducted from different parts of Teknaf and 87 were kidnapped from different Rohingya camps in Ukhiya over the past year.