Abduction, order of the day in Ctg

The latest case in point centres around the abduction and subsequent rescue of four forest department employees. Just a few days back, a young boy tried to kidnap four youngsters but his plan was foiled due to timely intervention by the police. Yet, we are alarmed at the spate in kidnapping incidence, the last one being the tenth incident in a row in 52 days.

Taking people hostage for money is nothing new in Chittagong. There had been abductions in the past; some cases were solved by successful rescue efforts and some settled amicably since families of most victims did not feel safe to involve law enforcers. But the highly publicised and talked about abduction of business magnate Jamal Uddin Ahmed Choudhury highlighted the intractability of the phenomenon against the backdrop of abortive rescue operations. Failure to rescue him despite innumerable assurances and efforts by the authorities probably inspired others to use the tactic with impunity.

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Yes, we should give credit to the law enforcers for capturing some of the abductors, but their failure to rescue Jamal Uddin remains a highly negative reference point for them. The kidnappers or the criminal groups that operate in the region seem to have gadgets that help them outsmart the police. Earlier, it was mainly for money, but now we are witnessing with dismay that kidnapping is also being employed to take revenge against people. There may be yet another motive tomorrow for the criminal to abduct somebody else. It is time the police re-equipped themselves and used their dossier on criminals and kidnappers to book them.