"The abductors are threatening us with death for filing case. But police have not even bothered to talk with any of our family members yet, let alone rescuing him," said Farhana Reza Jui, wife of kidnapped Dr S Azizur Rahman, on September 25.

Officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station Saidur Rahman said on September 25 that they could not contact the family as the complainant provided them with wrong address. But this correspondent visited the house and talked with the family at the same address on the same day.

Azizur, also the executive director of Al-Quran Research Academy (Bangladesh), went missing since he came out of his house at Mazar Road, Mirpur, on September 4 to go with one Jubair to see an ailing relative at Chittagong.

As he did not return to Dhaka as expected on September 6, Jui tried to reach her husband by his mobile phone but found out it was off.

When she checked out with Jubair over his cell phone, he expressed his ignorance about the whereabouts of her husband. Jui then filed a general diary with Mirpur Police Station on September 10.

On September 13, someone called Jui from Azizur's cell phone but hung up without saying a word. When she phoned at Azizur's number on the following day, someone demanded Tk 10 lakh for release of her husband and asked her to contact at the number four days later.

"Meanwhile, using Azizur's identity, they began to threaten some people of Khulna with death from his cell phone and sent them coffin clothes. They also used the names of notorious criminal Kala Jahangir and Shailen, apparently to create confusion over the happenings," claimed Jui.

"I asked the GrameenPhone authorities on September 14 to disconnect the line.

"But they called me from another mobile phone on September 21 and warned me of dire consequences for disconnecting Azizur's phone. They asked me to tell them my present address, saying they would send me the photo of my husband to show his present condition.

"The same man phoned me on September 23 and threatened me again for not re-activating Azizur's phone. He however did not talk about money," said Jui, adding that she rang back at the number and learnt that it belonged to a phone shop at Mirpur Stadium.

Azizur might have angered some people by helping the closure of some homeopathic colleges in Khulna that were set up only to make money in the 80's, she alleged.

Suspecting involvement of those people, Jui filed an abduction case with Mirpur Police Station on September 23 against AHM Shawkat, SM Ramzan, Hashmat Ali, Kazi Abdul Hannan, Asit Kumar Chowdhury and Jubair.

One of the accused, Hashmat, allegedly sent a letter to the 'Hotel Kadar' they own at Khulna on September 22 saying lodging case would not be of any help as the people working against Dr Azizur are very powerful. They had cut off one finger of Dr Azizur during interrogation, the letter said.