Law enforcement agencies have detained a car driver on charges of confining a joint secretary of the Planning Commission in a government vehicle and demanding Tk 600,000.
Officer-in-Charge of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Monirul Islam said the driver, Abdul Awal, 40, had been driving Joint Secretary Maksuda Khatun’s car for the past two months.
According to police, around 8:15am on Wednesday, Khatun left Dhanmondi for the Planning Commission. Instead of taking her to the office, the driver drove toward Airport Road via Mohakhali and Banani. When Khatun tried to call the national emergency service 999, the driver allegedly snatched her mobile phone and locked the car doors.
Police said the driver then drove through Diabari in Uttara toward Hemayetpur in Savar and later roamed various areas of Dhaka via Darus Salam before returning to the Planning Commission around noon.
After stopping the vehicle, the driver allegedly demanded Tk 600,000 from the joint secretary, citing his mother’s medical treatment. He initially asked for Tk 50,000. Khatun told him the money would be given after reaching the office, after which he brought her inside the commission premises. Law enforcement personnel detained him there, police said.
Khatun said the driver could have asked for money without taking her hostage, seizing her phone, and driving her around the city for four hours, adding that the incident left her mentally distressed.
Police said legal action is being processed.
