Driver detained for holding joint secretary hostage in car

Law enforcers rescued a joint secretary from a hostage situation in a government car and detained the vehicle’s driver at Agargaon in the capital on Wednesday noon.

The driver Abdul Awal, 40, held Planning Commission’s Joint Secretary Maksuda Hossain hostage for around four hours in the running vehicle, and demanded Tk6 lakh as ransom, police informed reporters.

Awal, a resident of Bogura district, has been driving the government car for Maksuda for the past two months, and previously served as a driver for another joint secretary at the Planning Commission.

An abduction lawsuit would be filed against him, said Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Monirul Islam.

According to police and the victim, the incident began around 8:15am when Maksuda left her Dhanmondi residence for her office at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

Upon reaching the China-Bangladesh Friendship Conference Centre area, the driver did not proceed towards the Planning Commission and instead diverted the vehicle through Bijoy Sharani, she said.

When asked about the change in route, the driver did not respond and continued driving through Mohakhali, Banani and towards the Airport, the joint secretary said.

Sensing trouble, Maksuda informed one of her colleagues. Later, she also attempted to call the national emergency service 999, but the driver snatched her mobile phone, switched it off and locked the car doors, she added.

The vehicle was then driven towards Savar, through Diabari in Uttara. It was subsequently rerouted to Darus-us-Salam area and towards Agargaon.

Maksuda said Awal did not explain why he was driving arbitrarily through different roads or why he was keeping her confined.

At one point, the driver stopped the vehicle, and demanded Maksuda pay Tk6 lakh for his mother’s treatment, including Tk50,000 in immediate handover.

The joint secretary told her abductor that she did not have the sum at the time, but can make an arrangement upon reaching her office.

Convinced, Awal drove her to Planning Commission premises around 12pm, when law enforcers detained him and rescued the joint secretary.

The incident caused widespread concern at senior levels of the administration, with police and intelligence agencies tracking the vehicle through noon.

Planning Division Secretary Shakil Akhtar said preliminary information suggested the driver was a drug addict. He said police were instructed to take legal action against him.

Speaking to reporters at her office, Maksuda said she was mentally shaken by the incident.

“If Awal needed money, he could have simply asked for it,” she told reporters.