Pabna Police Arrest 8 Kidnappers, Rescue 2 Students

Detective Branch (DB) police have arrested eight members of a kidnapping ring and safely rescued two abducted college students during an operation in Pabna.

Additional Superintendent of Police Rezinur Rahman confirmed the arrests during a press briefing at the DB office on Tuesday (May 20) afternoon.

According to the police, the victims—Mazharul Islam Prant, 19, and his friend Tanvir Hossain Tanmoy, 18—left their homes in Ishwardi upazila for Pabna city on Monday afternoon. At around 9:30 pm, the kidnappers called Prant's family using his mobile phone.

The gang claimed they had detained the two youths along with a girl and demanded a ransom of Tk 3 lakh for their release. They also threatened to beat and kill the students if the money was not paid.

Following a written complaint from the victims' families, a DB team—led by Officer-in-Charge Rashidul Islam and supervised by senior officials—launched an immediate rescue operation. The team successfully tracked the suspects, rescued the students and provided them with first aid.

The arrested individuals are Roni Sheikh, 25; Zahid Islam Hatem, 25; Shanto Mia, 24; Rahat Ali, 20; Sejan Hossain, 25; Sajjad Hossain, 20; Sohel Rana, 40; and Rifat Hossain, 19. All suspects reside in the Pabna municipal and Ishwardi areas.

During the raid, police also seized four motorcycles and multiple mobile phones used to execute the kidnapping and demand the ransom. The accused are currently in police custody pending legal action.