Khulna food inspector abducted posing as police, rescued after 5.5 hours

Food Inspector Sushanta Kumar Majumder was rescued five and a half hours after being abducted in Khulna. He was found around 12:30 am early Monday at the playground of Azgara BRB High School in Terokhada upazila. At the time of rescue, his hands, feet, and eyes were tied.

Abul Bashar Mohammad Atikur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of the Counter-Terrorism and Special Branch (CTSB) of Khulna Metropolitan Police, told Prothom Alo that officers from Khulna Sadar Police Station rescued the abducted official around 12:30 am.

Sushanta Kumar Majumder is posted as the Food Inspector and In-Charge at Ghat no. 4 in Khulna city. He is originally from Chitalmari upazila in Bagerhat district.

Khulna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Hawladar Sanwar Hossain Masum said multiple police units launched operations immediately after learning about the abduction. Alarmed by the pressure, the kidnappers abandoned Sushanta in the school field, from where Terokhada police later rescued him. He has since received primary medical care.

Police sources said the kidnappers demanded ransom from Sushanta’s family after the abduction. The family sent a sum via mobile financial services (MFS). Based on the transaction, police have detained an agent from the Sener Bazar area in Rupsha upazila for questioning.

The abduction took place around 7:00 pm on Sunday evening near Ghat no. 4 in Khulna city. Eyewitnesses reported that several men forcibly put Sushanta on a trawler. A passerby captured the incident on video.

The video shows several men forcing an individual onto a trawler. During the scuffle, groaning and cries for help are audible. The boat is then seen speeding away.

Immediately following the incident, Sushanta’s wife, Madhabi Rani Majumder, filed a written complaint with Khulna Sadar Police Station. She alleged that individuals identifying themselves as police officers — including one Md. Reza and another named Babu Mondol — along with three others, handcuffed her husband and forcibly took him away. They beat him while dragging him onto the trawler and took him toward Jailkhana Ghat. After the abduction, both of Sushanta’s mobile phones were found switched off.

Madhabi also stated that Babu Mondol had previously demanded money from her husband on multiple occasions, but Sushanta refused to comply.