Some unidentified men picked up Anika, daughter of Anwar Sikdar, from Gendaria at about 10:00am when she was playing in front of their house, sources said.

Anwar, owner of a rod-rolling factory in Shyampur, filed a general diary with Shyampur Police Station at noon after he failed to find his daughter.

Locals challenged Rajan and Shahidul in Sreenagar as they were roaming around suspiciously. They pounded the pair at around 5:00pm learning that they were abductors, sources said.

Both were turned over to police later. Upon their confession, Shyampur and Sreenagar police raided a house and rescued the girl, they added.

Police sent critically injured Rajan, 18, to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for treatment.

Rajan told our DMCH correspondent that he and his friend Shahidul picked up the girl and took her to Munshiganj in a taxicab.

He claimed Shahidul masterminded the whole incident.