A Cox’s Bazar court has sentenced seven suspended members of the Detective Branch (DB) to 12 years in jail in a case filed for kidnapping and holding a businessman hostage for Tk 17 lakh ransom.
Cox’s Bazar District Sessions and Judges Court Judge Mohammad Ismail passed the order on Tuesday.
The convicts are Sub Inspectors (SI) Moniruzzaman and Abul Kalam, Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASI) Feroz, Golam Mostofa and Alauddin, two constables Al Amin and Mostofa Azam.
The court also fined them Tk 1 lakh each, in default of which they will have to serve one more year in jail.
Advocate Mohammad Jahangir, the lawyer for the plaintiff in the case, said all seven accused were present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. The judge sentenced 5 years imprisonment under section 365 and 7 years under section 386. Both sentences are to be served concurrently. As a result, the sentence will be 7 years.
Public Prosecutor Advocate Faridul Islam, the lawyer of the state side of the case, said the DB team abducted businessman Abdul Gafur from the road behind Cox’s Bazar thana and demanded Tk 1 crore as ransom. His family members in the end agreed to pay Tk 17 lakh for his release. After receiving the money, the detectives freed him in Marine Drive area of Cox’s Bazar.
Informed by the victim’s family, an army team halted the DB police’s microbus at an army check-post in Lambari area of the Cox’s Bazar Marine Drive. At that time, SI Moniruzzaman managed to flee the scene, but others were caught red-handed, he said.
Later, Abdul Gafur filed a case against them with Teknaf Police Station.