Altaf's claim goes awry
Secret agencies in Ctg to negotiate with Jamal kidnappers
Staff Correspondent
Belying the home minister's claim that the government knows the whereabouts of abducted Chittagong businessman Jamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, different agencies say they are still in the dark and rather baffled by the kidnap. A team of secret agencies from Dhaka is now in Chittagong, trying to trace Jamal if he is still alive, according to sources. "We were asked to negotiate with the abductors parallel to police," a member of the team told The Daily Star. Sources said the government was even willing to arrange payments for the abductors against Jamal's release. Meantime, the government may engage the army for the businessman's rescue. Jamal, who was abducted on July 24, remains untraced, which raised a horde of questions about the police force's ability and the government's sincerity in rescuing the magnate. The government was even more embarrassed when the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Shahudul Haque told a parliamentary committee meeting on August 23 that Jamal would be rescued within 48 hours, a promise that remains unmet even after 170 hours of making the pledge. The following day, Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury told journalists that the government knows the location of Jamal and that he would be rescued soon by the joint forces. The IGP visited Chittagong to supervise the rescue without any result. Nazma Akhtar Happy, wife of Jamal, told The Daily Star last night that the government and police are not properly acting even though it is now quite clear who are behind the abduction. Additional Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) MA Khaleque and Assistant Commission (Detective Branch) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police Shafique Uddin Chowdhury told The Daily Star yesterday that they had no information about Jamal.
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