Some individuals, masquerading as professional drivers, have long been involved with abducting targeting affluent individuals, extorting significant ransom amounts from their victims, according to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The most recent victim of this criminal racket is Hasibur Rahman Himel, a fourth-year student in the Mechanical Department at the International University of Business and Technology (IUBAT).
On Wednesday, after 28 days of captivity, Himel was rescued by the RAB from the Tahirpur border area in Sunamganj. The RAB also apprehended five members of the abduction gang, identified as Abdul Malek (35), Samidul Islam (30) – the private car driver of the victim's family, Rony Nabal (41), Rasel Mia (34), and Billal Hossain (24) during drives on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A foreign pistol, two bullets and two walkie-talkies were seized from them.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director (Legal and Media Wing) of the RAB, disclosed these details to reporters at Kawran Bazar media centre in the capital on Thursday.
Himel's father, a businessman dealing in batteries, had his son involved in managing the family's trade, as stated by the RAB officer.
Being assured by Samidul that batteries could be sold to different shops in Sherpur, Himel by their private car left their residence at Uttara for going to the district on 26 December morning last year.
Samidul was driving the car, and upon reaching Gazipur, the kidnappers abducted Himel, eventually taking him to Mymensingh and then to Tahirpur in Sunamganj.
They carried out inhumane torture on him and demanded Tk2 crore from his family as ransom by sending them video footages of the torture.
A maternal uncle of the victim filed an abduction case against unknown accused with Uttara West police station on 6 January this year.
Commander Moin said that members of Intelligence Wing, RAB-1, 9, and 14 worked collaboratively to apprehend the criminals and secure Himel's release.  

On 23 January, the victim's mother followed the kidnappers' instructions and went to Netrokona, eventually reaching Tahirpur in Sunamganj with RAB's elite force accompanying her.
Upon the force's arrival, the criminals attacked them with knives, injuring two RAB members. However, the force managed to arrest Malek and Samidul, and their information facilitated the subsequent arrests and the successful rescue of Himel.
Samidul, who had been driving Himel's car for four years, along with Abdul Malek had conspired to carry out the abduction, said Commander Moin, adding, "All the arrestees are drivers by professions. They, under the guise of driving, are members of a kidnapping gang, having abducted multiple individuals and extorted ransom from them."
Of them, Malek is wanted in 14 cases across different police stations in the country.