A fourth-grade student of the English medium section at Cantonment Public School and College in Khagrachhari was rescued by the army on Sunday, hours after being abducted by unidentified criminals.
The 11-year-old student, identified as Al Rafi, was reportedly kidnapped from the Chengi Square area of the district around 11:30am, after which the abductors contacted his family demanding a large ransom.
Following the ransom demand, a special rescue operation was launched by Khagrachhari Sadar Zone of the Bangladesh Army.
By 5:00pm the same day, a military team led by Captain Mahfuzul Islam, Commander of the Panchhari Army Camp, conducted a successful raid in Mollapara Bridge area of Panchhari and rescued the victim.
During the operation, one of the suspected abductors, Badsha Mia (28) from Mohammadpur in Khagrachhari, was detained. Acting on his confession, the army carried out a follow-up raid in Panchhari Bazar, arresting another suspect, Kamrul Hasan (32) of Itkhola village.
However, the alleged mastermind behind the abduction, Abdul Malek Mia alias Malu, son of Abdul Mannan from Mohammadpur remains on the run. In a press release, Senior Warrant Officer Delwar Hossain of Khagrachhari Sadar Zone confirmed that military efforts to capture the fugitive suspect are ongoing.
At around 10:00pm on Sunday night, the two arrested suspects were handed over to Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station.
Officer-in-Charge Abdul Baten of the station confirmed that legal procedures are underway.
The incident has sparked concern among local residents, with calls for heightened security measures in the district’s educational institutions and surrounding areas.
