A Prothom Alo staff member in Mymensingh was abducted and subjected to ransom demands by a group of miscreants on Thursday night.

The victim, Abul Bashar, is the regional circulation manager of Prothom Alo in Mymensingh.

Bashar filed a case with the Kotwali Model Police Station on Saturday evening, said Md Shafiqul Islam Khan, officer-in-charge of the police station, yesterday.

According to the case statement, around 7:45pm on Thursday, Bashar was returning to his Gazipur home. After reaching the Digharkanda Bypass on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, three unidentified men approached him.

The men, aged between 30 and 35, initiated a conversation to confirm his employment at Prothom Alo. They then lured him to a nearby private car under the pretence of discussing newspaper sales with someone inside the vehicle.

As Bashar approached the car, the assailants forcibly pushed him inside. The car had a driver and one passenger in the backseat. Two of the three men entered the car, while one stayed behind.

In the statement, Bashar said that the perpetrators blindfolded and bound him with a muffler, attempting to strangle him. They beat him severely with a metal object, inflicting injuries on his hands, legs, knees, head, and other parts of his body.

The kidnappers allegedly searched his pockets and bag, seizing his wallet, which contained 15,700 Tk, an ATM card, driving licence, motorcycle documents, and his mobile phone.

They demanded the PINs for his ATM and mobile payment accounts but found no funds, prompting further assault, he added.

The gang eventually demanded Tk 500,000 for his release. After negotiation, the ransom was settled at Tk 200,000.

The abductors contacted Bashar's brother-in-law, Abul Kalam Azad, who said he received multiple SMS messages, providing numbers for bKash and Nagad transfers. The family paid the ransom through nine transactions.

After receiving the ransom, the kidnappers abandoned Bashar, blindfolded and bound, near the Bailey Bridge in Trishal around 10:00pm.

They warned him against reporting the incident to anyone, Basher said.

Bashar was rescued by an auto-rickshaw driver who helped him reach Trishal Bus Stand, from where he boarded a bus to Mymensingh, he said.

He sought primary treatment at the emergency department of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

Police have started an investigation into the allegations, but no arrests have been made so far, the OC said.

"We have traced the locations of the nine mobile numbers used for the transactions and are hopeful of achieving a breakthrough soon," he added.