Shahjahan Badsha, a 28-year-old resident of Mulaid village in Gazipur’s Sreepur upazila, was waiting on the Dhaka–Mymensingh Highway to travel to Dhaka. It was Saturday evening (July 19), around 6:30 PM, when he saw a private car taking passengers. Seeing others board the vehicle, he assumed it was safe and got in.
But soon, that decision turned into a terrifying experience.
Held Hostage and Threatened with Weapons
Shortly after the journey began, four men inside the car pulled out locally made weapons and took control. Shahjahan said they snatched his phone and cash and then forced him to hand over his debit and credit card PINs. He was carrying cards from four different banks.
Over the next several hours, the gang used his cards at various ATM booths around the area, withdrawing a total of 6.5 lakh taka. They also took around 50,000 taka in cash that he had with him.
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Beaten and Abandoned After 7 Hours
Shahjahan was held hostage in the vehicle for about seven hours—from 6:30 PM until around 1:00 AM. Eventually, after beating him up, the criminals threw him out of the car near National Feed Mill in the Memberbari area along the highway. Locals found him there and helped him contact his family.
Using someone else’s smartphone, Shahjahan logged into his Facebook account and posted a live video describing the incident in full detail.
He Was Headed to Dhaka for an Exam and a Flight
Shahjahan had been on his way to Dhaka to sit for an exam the next morning. He was fully packed because, after his exam, he had an international flight to China scheduled that evening.
Despite the horrific incident, he informed police at Sreepur Police Station and continued on to Dhaka. Reports confirm he sat for his exam in the morning and boarded his flight in the evening as planned.
Police Response: Investigation Underway
When asked about the case, Officer-in-Charge Md. Abdul Barik of Sreepur Police Station said:
“The victim informed me about the incident. Although it happened within Joydebpur police jurisdiction, we are treating the matter seriously since he boarded the car from Sreepur.”
Police say they have started working on the case, but no arrests had been made at the time of reporting.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
