A police official, who negotiated with the abductors in the initial stage, argues that had he not been dead, police would have got some information about him. But, for the last 12 days they received absolutely no information or even hear rumours about Jamal. "This is unusual," the official told The Daily Star last night on telephone from Chittagong. "Since he was abducted on July 24, we had always gathered some information about Jamal through our sources or the abductors contacted his family through third party.""Although we could not pinpoint his exact location all these days, we were sure he was alive because our sources kept on feeding us with bits and pieces of information," he noted, "but for the last 12 days, we could not gather any information whatsoever about him."He and his other colleagues who have been trying to trace Jamal out now believe that this lack of information or communication only meant that Jamal was not alive.

Following Jamal's kidnap from his Chawkbazar office in Chittagong, the abductors contacted his family to pay a ransom of Tk 50 lakh. When the family sought police help, the law enforcers suggested that they pay the ransom. Accordingly, a telephonic negotiation between the abductors and the family took place with police mediation. The kidnappers agreed to free Jamal for a huge sum. Police sources put the sum at Tk 15 lakh, while the family sources claim this to be Tk 25 lakh.

According to Jamal's family and police sources, two policemen were given the responsibility to deliver the money to a remote hillside destination. The policemen went there, returned and said the abductors would soon release Jamal. His family now believes the policemen shared the money with the abductors or the abductors have betrayed.

Since that incident, the abductors also stopped contacting the family.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury on August 24 and Inspector General of Police Shahudul Haq had promised an immediate rescue of Jamal. They even gave a 48-hour deadline.

But as the law enforcers failed to make any headway, the government overhauled the Chittagong police administration, transferring and punishing nearly 200 officers and personnel including the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Shahidullah Khan. It also deployed paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles and intelligence agencies in the operation. Our Chittagong Bureau adds: on the basis of allegation of misappropriation of the ransom money, the police officials who handled the deal would be quizzed by the higher authorities. The then officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station Mohammad Ali at the instruction of ex-CMP Commissioner Shahidullah Khan, who has been made officer on special duty (OSD), reportedly gave the money at the Bahaddarhat point in the city.