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Armed separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) on Thursday demanded Tk 1.5 million (Tk 15 million) from his family as ransom for the release of Sonali Bank’s Bandarban Ruma upazila branch manager Nizam Uddin who was abducted during a daring robbery on Tuesday.
Nizam Uddin’s wife Nazmul Nahar, a teacher at Bandarban Cantonment Public School and College, revealed the matter to the media shortly after she received a phone call from the KNF, reports news agency UNB.
In a press conference at the conference room of Bandarban Zilla Parishad on Thursday morning, its chairman Kyaw Shwe Hla denied holding any discussion with KNF until it releases the abducted bank manager, returns looted 14 arms, money and stops all kinds of criminal activities.
Kyaw Shwe, also president of the district peace committee, said a view-exchange meeting with the participation of representatives from several groups to facilitate KNF members’ return to normal life was held on May 29 last year.
On June 30, an 18-member peace committee was formed with the coordination of local leaders. Later several virtual meetings between the peace committee and the KNF were held to return peace in the district, he said.
On November 5 last year and March 5 this year, a couple of in-person dialogues with the group were held and two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed when KNF assured that it would suspend all armed activities, he informed.
On the other hand, banking activities of Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Sonali Bank in the district’s Thanchi upazila branch have remained suspended since Wednesday.
In Ruma and Rowangchhari upazilas, activities of Krishi Bank remained normal while that of Sonali Bank remained suspended.
As part of the criminal activities, the separatist group kidnapped the Sonali Bank manager on April 2 and looted Tk 15 million (Tk 1.5 crore) from the Ruma branch.
The incident occurred during Taraweeh prayers. The robbers also looted 14 weapons from the Ansar members guarding the bank and abducted the bank manager from the mosque on the bank premises.
They carried out robberies at Sonali Bank and Krishi Bank branches in Thanchi upazila, Bandarban on Wednesday, in a similar incident at a Sonali Bank branch in Ruma upazila.