Admission Cheats: 4 held, hostage rescued

Four youths, including two students, were arrested in the capital early yesterday for allegedly kidnapping another student who had refused to pay them Tk 4 lakh for getting him admitted to a university through unfair means.

Saleh Sourav, son of Abdul Matin of Tangail's Kalihati upazila, was rescued from a rented room of one of his captors in Nilkhet where the arrests were made, said Rab-12 Crime Prevention Company-3 Commander Bina Rani Das.

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Arrestee Anwar Hossain Rokon, 26, a student of political science at Dhaka University, led the gang which swapped photos in identity cards to appear in admission tests in place of their clients, she said.

The remaining three are Anwar's cousin Ismail Hossain Rubel, 27, of Noakhali's Sudharam; Akhtaruzzaman Khokon, 21, and Jakaria Sarkar, 22, a student of Dhaka College, she told a press conference at the Tangail Rab camp.

Saleh was not content with agricultural engineering at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science & Technology University and was abducted from Tangail on April 15, she said, adding that he was kept in Jakaria's rented room.

The gang demanded Tk 5 lakh for his release from his father, who then informed Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), she added.

Apart from the kidnapping technique, the gang also took possession of their clients' mark-sheets and certificates well in advance to bargain for unpaid dues, said the Rab commander.

The gang paid meritorious students of renowned universities from Tk 1-1.5 lakh to take each admission exam in place of their clients, she said.

One such "examinee", Mohammad Ashraful, a DU student, was jailed for 19 days after a mobile court caught him in the act during a recent admission test at the Hajee university, said Bina. 

She said Anwar confessed to have got 10 clients enrolled in universities in the 2016-17 academic session and that there were four more gangs like theirs active.

An abduction case was filed against the four with Tangail Model Police Station.