Journalist Utpal Das, who had been missing for more than two months, says his captors demanded money. But he could not say who the kidnappers were or where they had kept him detained.
Utpal, 29, is a senior correspondent for online news website purbapashchimbd.news. He went missing on October 10, soon after leaving his office in Motijheel that afternoon.
Around 11:45pm on Tuesday, a microbus dropped him off at a CNG filling station in Narayanganj’s Rupganj Upazila.
Police then took him to Bhulta Outpost. His family came to him and took him to Narsingdi’s Raipura around 2:30am on Wednesday.
Utpal told the media that he had been abducted from in front of Dhanmondi’s Star Kebab.
“They grabbed me from behind, put me in a car and blindfolded me so I couldn’t see their faces. I was kept in a tin-roofed house. The abductors slipped food under the door three times a day. There was no bed so I slept on the floor. There was an attached bathroom.”
They beat him at first, he said.
“You have a lot of money, so give us the money, they said. They seized my phone.”
On Tuesday, he was blindfolded and put on a car. They drove around for several hours before dropping him at the filling station.
“They untied my blindfold and told me to only open my eyes when the car left.”
Utpal was given his phone back before the abductors left. He made a call on the phone and was picked up by police about an hour later.
Rupganj Police Station Bhulta Police Outpost Inspector Shahidul Islam went to the filling station at the order of his superintendent.
“SP sir called me and said a missing journalist named Utpal Das had been found and if I knew anything about it. I told him I would make enquiries. Then the reporters started calling. I found out that Utpal Das was at Shahjalal Filling Station.”
The inspector and the superintendent of police spoke to Utpal, but were unable to gather many details about the abductors.
Utpal’s parents and some relatives arrived at Bhulta Police Outpost around 2:30am.
“I am alright,” Utpal said, embracing his mother. “Nothing happened to me.”
Utpal’s sister Binita Rani told the media that they called Utpal’s phone after hearing he had been found. Utpal then told them he was in Bhulta.
“We have been reunited with my brother because of the efforts of the government, security forces and the media. We thank you all.”
Asked whether there had been a ransom demand, she said a man had phoned claiming to be SI Ripon Talukdar.
“He said Utpal had been found in Tangail in critical condition and that a lot of money had been spent on the treatment. He told us to send money to cover the cost.”
“We asked for time to get the money but he kept insisting. An hour later we learned that he was telling us lies.”
A general diary was filed by the family on October 23, she said. At the time a man had called from Utpal’s phone asking for Tk 100,000. He called again the next day demanding more money, reports bdnews24.
“My father told him he would pay but was confused as to when and how. He asked to talk to Utpal. But they didn’t call again.”
“We are just delighted to have our son back,” said Utpal’s father Chityaranjan Das. “We thank you for your help. We want a proper investigation into the matter and justice to be served.”
In the past few months, several political, diplomatic, education and business officials have gone missing from Dhaka.
Most recently, on December 4, former diplomat M Maroof Zaman went missing on the way to the airport to pick up his daughter, who was returning from abroad.
Businessman Aniruddha Roy was the last among the recent abductions to return home before Utpal. He had been missing two and a half months.
