Bangladesh: Hindu Law Student Held Captive, Assaulted By Unidentified Persons For Ransom

Dhaka: The atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh continue unabated. A 25-year-old man, who is Hindu priest and law student, was allegedly kidnapped, held captive overnight, tortured and forced to extort money from his family before being dumped on a roadside in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. According to police, the victim is undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Where did the in incident happen?

According to reports, the victim, who is identified as Subhash Deuri, was targeted by unidentified assailants late Monday night. Deuri is a first-year student at Central Law College in Old Dhaka. He also occasionally serves as an assistant priest at the main temple of Jagannath University. However, it is unclear whether he was targeted because of his religion. 

According to reports, Deuri is a resident of Magura district in Khulna, about 170 kilometers from Dhaka. He lives in a rented apartment with a friend in Dhaka. 

What did they demand?

According to Subhash Deuri's relatives, he was kidnapped around 8 pm after he arrived in the Swamibag area by rickshaw. He managed to escape on Tuesday morning and then sought help from his roommate, who took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). His sister, Jaya, said that at around 1 am  on Tuesday, an unknown person called them and demanded 26,000 Bangladeshi taka.

One of the kidnappers gave him a phone number to transfer money. After 26,000 Bangladeshi taka was transferred to the account linked to that number, he was left on the street in the old Dhaka area. Dipu Barman, a relative of the victim, said that Deuri's leg and hip were broken. Doctors are suggesting surgery. 

What did the police say?

Wari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mofizur Rahman said that Deuri told police that he had gone to a temple in Swamibag on Monday night, where some people allegedly kidnapped him and held him hostage in a house. He later escaped by jumping from a part of the building early in the morning. He sustained injuries during the jump. Police are investigating the incident.

What did the members of the temple say?

Anik Kumar Das, member secretary of the Central Temple Committee of Jagannath University, clarified that Deuri Temple does not have a permanent priest. He said that the temple's permanent priest is Saikat Pathak. However, in his absence, Subhash sometimes performs religious rituals. This incident has nothing to do with the temple. He also issued a clarification on the temple's Facebook page. 

Kajal Debnath, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, said, "After hearing about the incident, we are trying to gather all the information to determine if it was just a case of mugging."