Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) rescued Arisa Jannat Zaifa, a 8 month old baby girl, two days after her abduction and detained the mastermind of the heinous act from Mohammadpur Thana area on Saturday night.
A RAB-10 team conducted a raid at the Nabinagar Housing area of Mohammadpur and arrested the mastermind of the sensational kidnapping-Md. Fatema Akhter Shapla (27), wife of Md. Selim Hossain, hailed from Alamdanga, Chuadanga, said a RAB press release.
The rescued child was handed over to her family.
During the primary interrogation, the arrestee confessed her link to the kidnapping and looting the house of the victims, it said
On November 15 last, a woman named Farzana Akhter's house was robbed from the alley next to Azimpur Medical Staff Quarters, Lalbagh Tower, and they kidnapped her (Fazana's),child along with taking away cash and gold ornaments.
The victim's family later sought help from RAB-10 to rescue the child. RAB increased its intelligence surveillance to arrest those involved in the incident after getting the allegation.
They have been living in a rented house in Lalbagh Tower area of Azimpur in the capital for the past three years. According to primary interrogation, the arrested Shapla met the victim's mother Farzana while travelling to the office with her mother one week before the kidnapping.
At that time, the arrested Shapla falsely identified herself to the victim's mother as Raisa and her home was in Naogaon district.
The mastermind Fatema Akhter Shapla also stated that she is single and a 2nd semester BBA student of a university. She said that she works as an office assistant in the Secretariat's transport pool to support her study.
The arrested Fatema Akhter also told the victim's mother Farzana Akhter that she needs a good room as a sublet to stay in Dhaka and if she rents the victim's house as a sublet, she will be able to study at home and also take care of the victim all day.
The victim's mother agreed to rent the house as a sublet to the arrested Fatema Akhter, thinking about her child's care.
Later, the arrested Fatema Akhter came home in the afternoon of November 14, 2024 and paid the victim's mother Tk 2000 as advance rent and stayed at home for the night.
The next morning, the arrested Fatema Akhter told the victim's mother Farzana Akhter that her cousin would come to her house from the village with rice.
Later, at approximately 8:30 in the morning, the arrested Fatema Akhter brought three people to the house, pretending to be her cousins.
After arriving at the house, at one point, the arrested Fatema Akhter and her so-called cousins threatened the victim's mother with sharp weapons and tied her hands and feet with a veil.
At that time, the arrested Fatema Akhter and her accomplices looted the house's valuables including gold ornaments and cash and kidnapped the victim Zaifa for ransom.
Later, with the help of intelligence surveillance and information technology, Fatema Akhter, who planned the kidnapping, was arrested from the Nabinagar Housing area of Mohammadpur in the capital.
The arrested Fatema Akhter Shapla is a housewife. She started living in Mohammadpur in the capital with her family in 2010. She passed SSC from a school in Bogra in 2012 and HSC from a college in the capital in 2014.
Later, she enrolled in another college in the capital and started studying in honors in marketing, but did not complete it.
Later, she got married in 2023 and started living in her husband's own flat in Mohammadpur Nabinagar Housing area three-four months ago.
Legal action is under process against the arrestee.
