Bangladeshi man pays Rs 5.0m to kidnappers in Kolkata

A Bangladeshi businessman has alleged that he paid a ransom of Rs 5.0 million to secure his release from a group of kidnappers, PTI reports citing a senior police officer, according to bdnews24.com.

The businessman has lodged a complaint over the matter at the Entally Police Station in Kolkata on Sunday.

Bashir Miya said he knew the kidnappers who forcibly detained him at an unknown location in Habra area of North 24 Parganas district, said the officer.

Bashir arrived in Kolkata last week to purchase some jewellery for his wife. He sat down with some people to discuss a business deal at a shopping mall in Sealdah area on Saturday, the officer said.

Bashir claimed that he and the others boarded a train to Hobra after lunch in order to meet another person involved in the deal, the officer said.

After reaching Habra, he was taken to an unknown location where the kidnappers tied up his hands and blindfolded him, the officer said, quoting the FIR.

'From there, they forced him to call his father in Bangladesh. He arranged for nearly Rs 600,000 in cash to pay the ransom,' the officer said.

Bashir alleged that the kidnappers also snatched away the foreign currency, equivalent to Rs 4.4 million, which he had with him.

They had also fixed two agents to take Bashir across the India-Bangladesh border. But the two men let him after he threatened to what had happened to the BSF personnel, the officer said.

After he was freed, Bashir went to the Entally Police Station and lodged a complaint over the incident on Sunday.

'We have initiated a probe into the matter and are checking the CCTV footages of the shopping mall where they had lunch. We have also contacted North 24 Parganas district police over the issue,' the officer added.