The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Sherpur

Falguni Begum alias Bristi, a pretty and smart young woman who has played as paramour in abducting a college student from Dhaka and extracting Tk 7 lakh in ransom was arrested Wednesday night from her father's home in Sherpur town.

A police team led by sub-inspector Ataur Rahman of Dakshin Khan thana of Dhaka stormed into the Madhya Nouhata residence of Syed Ahmed Suja at 10-30pm and picked up his daughter Bristi.

On her confessional statement, police on Friday seized Tk 50,000, a part of the ransom money deposited with the Islami Bank branch in Sherpur town. Immediately the bank cancelled SB A/c No.8304 opened barely four days ago in the name of Falguni Begum.

Police said SI Ataur was staying in plain cloths in the town for the last three days in search of Bristi following confessional statement of four abductors arrested from Satbaria Naruhati in Sujanagar upazila of Pabna district. They are Farrukh Kabir alias Babu (24), son of former AL MP late Ahmed Tafijuddin, former UP member Khalilur Rahman (45), Zilal Sheikh (45) and Sohrab Hossain Sorai (35). Three of them except Zilal who has fallen ill were undergoing intensive interrogation in Dhaka.

Police said Bristi, aged about 20, had developed romantic relationship with Mamoon Mia, a student of Titumir College in Dhaka, through mobile phone. Alluring to a joyous trip she took him to the residence of Khalil Member in remote Naruhati village of Sujanagar in the first week of July.

The four associates of Bristi confined Mamoon in the house of Khalil Member and demanded by phone a heavy ransom from his father to secure his release. Finding no alternative his father paid the ransom of Tk 7 lakh and secured the release of Mamoon from a char of Padma River under Ataikula thana on July 9.

Following description of Mamoon, police succeeded in arresting Khalil Member and three other abductors. They told the police that they are members of the dreaded bahini of Salam Molla, an underg-round outfit active in southwest districts of the country. They also named Bristi as the pioneer of abducting Mamoon.

Family sources of Bristi told UNB that she is known by different names - Bristi, Phalguni and Meghla. Pretty, smart and upstart she read up to Class IX in Alim Madrasha at Nouhata in the town.

While studying in madrasa she fell in love with a student of a vocational institute and married him in 2005. After a year her husband took a second wife and involved in cases. Bristi abandoned him.

Fifth of the eight children of Syed Ahmed Suja, a poor electric mechanic, Bristi could not fit in the poverty ridden family. Wayward Bristi came out of home about 8 months ago and informed parents that she works in a private clinic at Shakhipur in Tangail district.

Elderly Suja said his family has no relationship with Bristi who turned disobedient. She came home along with a woman in the town four days ago and left hours later. But she came home again Wednesday night just before police raided the house and arrested her.