Freed hotel owner

That the hotelier did not face the same fate as some other businessmen did in the recent past, is good augury. The district administration has claimed that the release was the result of the kidnappers being cordoned by the joint forces in deep forests. However, it has also been reported that he was freed after the family paid a ransom of Tk 15 lakh in two installments. If the latter version of the story is true, then it was not really an unqualified triumph on the part of law enforcers, even though the army noose tightening around them and their constant calls for surrender must have made a difference. Overall, a question mark dangles over law enforcement in terms of preventing or dealing with the latest wave of abduction.

Businessmen have already paid a heavy price, thanks to the activities of organised groups of kidnappers operating from remote places in the hilly region. The law enforcers' response to the recent spate of abduction has been inadequate, though some of the abducted men were released.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Obviously, better monitoring and surveillance is needed to deal with such crimes. A marked improvement in police mobility and intelligence service is also required to break the back of the crime syndicates.

The hotelier has been set free, but nothing has happened that may work as a deterrent to repetition of such crimes in future. The point is that the joint forces could not arrest any member of the group. The law enforcers will have to rescue the victims and at the same time crush the network of criminals. The police administration should think seriously in terms of capacity building to pre-empt and handle abduction cases.