Myanmar militants refuse ransom, deny abduction link

In a bizarre twist, the group that had claimed responsibility for the abduction of three Bangladeshis earlier, have refused the ransom and denied their involvement in the incident.

Arakan Liberation Party, a militant group of Myanmar, had earlier claimed to have abducted the two Bangladeshi tourists and their guide in Rangamati.

The two tourists, Jubayer, 26, and Munna, 34, from Dhaka, and their guide Mangsai Mro, 30, were reportedly abducted by armed men at Bilaichhari upazila in Rangamati on October 3.

On October 7, the militant group claimed to have abducted the three and demanded Tk 50 lakh in ransom from Paching Mro, elder brother of the abducted guide, over phone, according to Paching Mro.

Paching said he along with two others went to Mayngkarbaripara in Puichang area of Mizoram state of India, a bordering area, to pay the ransom money on Friday.

“We met three ALP men at a house in Mayngkarbaripara around 8:00pm yesterday, where the alleged abductors refused to take the ransom money and denied their involvement in the abduction,” Paching said.