37 young men held hostage in Libya after being lured to Italy
Jewel and Polly, a couple from the village of Khajurtola in Alamdanga, Chuadanga, had a peaceful life with their two children. After hearing about the success of distant relatives working in Italy, Poly dreamt of a better life and arranged for her husband to go there by contacting a broker. They arranged Tk 1.5 million by selling land and with their earnings, and sent Jewel to Italy.
However, the brokers misled Jewel, taking him to Libya instead. There, he was held captive for nine months, tortured, and repeatedly extorted for large sums of money. The financially struggling family cannot afford to bring Jewel back home. The traffickers are demanding an additional Tk 2.2 million for his release. Poly Khatun now finds herself in a trouble.
Jewel, along with 36 others, is currently being held by traffickers in Libya. Their families are from various villages including Belagachhi, Khajurtola, and Char Jadabpur in Alamdanga. On Thursday afternoon, relatives of the victims held a press conference, with Poly Khatun reading out a written statement. During the event, several family members responded to questions from newsmen.
The relatives alleged Mohammad Sagar, a resident of Belagachhi, Chuadanga, is the leader of the human trafficking ring. They also allege that Sagar’s family members, including his father Jantu, mother Amena Khatun, brother Jibon Ahmed, brother-in-law Mohammad Thantu, and Thantu’s wife Bedana Khatun, a teacher at a local school, are local middlemen. These individuals allegedly took money from the victims’ families on behalf of Sagar.
Rezaul Haque, the father of victim Tuhin, has filed a written complaint at Alamdanga police station, naming these individuals and several unidentified others. The complaint has been accepted as an FIR. The victims’ families are demanding the immediate arrest of the traffickers and the safe return of their loved ones from Libya.
According to the families, the traffickers promised jobs in Italy with salaries of Tk 100,000 to 150,000 per month and took Tk 1.5 million from each victim. However, instead of sending them to Italy, they were first taken to Dubai and then to Libya, where they were held captive.
The victims were subjected to physical and mental torture. Every week, the traffickers demanded Tk 4,000 to Tk 5,000 per person for food. They also demanded Tk 2.2 million from each family for the release of the hostages. During video calls, the families were shown horrific scenes of torture, including the removal of fingernails. The victims and their families are now caught in a dire situation.
Kalpana Khatun from Khajurtola village said that her son, who had passed the SSC exams with a GPA of 5, was lured by Sagar to leave for Italy in late February. To send him abroad, she sold 10 kathas of land, took loans from two NGOs, and also sent her son a total of Tk 100,000 over the last nine months. Now, she is forced to flee her home due to creditors demanding repayment.
Sabina Khatun from Char Jadabpur village shared that she had mortgaged land, sold cattle, and taken loans to send her brother abroad for Tk 1.5 million. She said, "I am trapped in a double crisis. On one hand, my brother is being tortured by the mafia, and I am being harassed by creditors on the other. My husband has become angry at me. I feel there is no way out except death."
Abdul Majid, a resident of Khajurtola village, has fallen in a trap by sending his son-in-law abroad by taking loans. He said, “The broker told me that my relative would earn a salary of Tk 150,000 once he reached abroad. To finance this, I took a high-interest loan of Tk 15,000 a month. Now, the money keeps increasing, and I don't know what will happen next.”
Alamdanga police station officer-in-charge (OC) Masudur Rahman confirmed to Prothom Alo that the human trafficking case has been taken up by the police.
Some family members of the victims, along with police, have raided the suspects’ homes, but the traffickers have gone into hiding following the filing of the case.