Nine people, including two tobacco farmers and seven workers, were abducted early Tuesday from a remote hill area in Lama upazila of Bandarban district, triggering panic among locals.
The incident took place in the early hours of April 8 at a tobacco farm in the remote Lemmupalong area of Lama’s Soroi Union. Unidentified armed assailants stormed the farmhouses of farmers Al Amin and Bhutto, abducting them along with seven of their workers, police confirmed.
Lama Police Station Officer-in-Charge Tofazzal Hossain stated that a joint team of army and police has already launched a rescue operation. “Preliminary reports suggest the abduction was carried out for ransom,” he added.
This is not the first such incident in the region. On January 14 and 1, a total of 14 tobacco workers were abducted from the same area. On February 16, 26 rubber plantation workers were kidnapped from Goyalmara in the nearby Fasiakhali Union. All were later released after ransom payments.
Liberty News’ local correspondent states that Gozalia Union Parishad Chairman Ushe Thoai Marma said repeated abductions have spread fear among residents and workers in the hill tracts, particularly those in remote agricultural zones.
LND/BG
