Detectives arrested two alleged kidnappers and rescued a five-year-old boy in Gazipur on Sunday, around one and a half months after his abduction from the capital's Uttara area.

The arrestees are Abdul Jabbar and his wife Nazma Begum.

Jabbar abducted Mobarak, son of Mohammad Faruk, a fruit vendor, from in front his house in Uttara's sector-9 on December 29 last year while he was playing, said detectives.

The abductors kept the boy confined to Nazma's house at Mauna in Gazipur. Jabbar had been demanding Tk 5 lakh as ransom for the boy's release.

They had frequently threatened over the phone about killing the boy if the family informed police.

Jabbar was arrested from the home of his another wife Selina at Saghata in Gaibandha on Sunday, said Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police during a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre yesterday.

Based on his information, the DB team rescued Mobarak and arrested Nazma.

Monirul said father of the child paid around Tk 17,000 to the abductors through mobile banking services. He collected the money from other fruits vendors.

Faruk requested the kidnappers not to harm the boy and promised to pay more money.

Jabbar and Nazma used to torture Mobarak and let his parents hear the sound of his crying over the phone to get the money, Monirul said.

Though the family told the abductors about their poor financial condition, they did not release the boy, he added.

Later, the family filed a case with Uttara Paschim Police Station on February 4 this year.

During primary interrogation, Jabbar told police that he used to abduct children for ransom and kept them confined to the houses of his four wives who stayed in Gazipur, Gaibandha, Meherpur and Sirajganj, according to detectives.

However, Jabbar did not admit to killing any children in captivity, Monirul said, adding that they would interrogate him further.

The DMP official said Jabbar, who was not acquainted with the victim's family, might have abducted the boy thinking him to be a son of a rich person.

Detectives produced them before a Dhaka court yesterday seeking seven-day remand for each. The court granted three-day remand each for interrogation.