Woman escapes kidnap bid as her car runs out of fuel in Dhaka

A woman has said she survived an attempt by her newly appointed chauffeur and another man to kidnap her on her way to work in Dhaka.

She cried for help as her car ran out of fuel, drawing rescuers from among the passers-by, according to a case she started at Shahbagh Police Station on Thursday afternoon.

The woman, 35-year old Shammi Akhter, works in a public relations firm in Mirpur DOHS and lives at Bashundhara Lane in the Science Laboratory area.

She said she started driving to her office on Thursday morning as the chauffeur, 40-year-old Md Rony did not arrive on time. However, she let Rony drive after he arrived before the car had reached the main road.

Rony then allowed a stranger, later identified by a single name as Kashem, to get in the car and both of them attacked her with blades and wrenches before she could understand what was happening. They roamed around in a bid to take her to an unknown destination.

After two hours of driving, the car suddenly stopped in front of Dhaka University's Jagannath Hall as it ran out of fuel.

Shammi said she opened the car window and started screaming when the driver got out of the car to get fuel.

"When I asked if I'd be killed, Rony said, 'No'." Rony was giving inconsistent answers when asked why they were kidnapping her and where they would be taking her, according to the woman.

She said they had tried to force-feed her water and tablets from time to time, but she did not take anything. “The water was spiked, so I pretended to drink and then threw out all of it."

Rony took away about Tk 8,000 and her bank cards from her bag while leaving after the car ran out of fuel, Shammi said.

"I was having trouble breathing as I was locked inside. I told Kashem to let me switch the AC on and that I'd not scream," she said.

“Kashem wasn't aware that it's not possible to turn on the AC without the key. I leaned forward, opened the driver's side door and shouted with my head out. I also opened the front left side door.”

People came after hearing the scream and caught Kashem.

Kashem declined to give his full name but said he was from Palang in Shariatpur. He lives in the Tannery Junction area of Dhaka.

He confessed to carrying out the attempt to kidnap Shammi, said Shahbagh Police Station chief Moudut Hawlader.

However, Kashem did not reveal the motive. “Details will be known after we arrest Rony,” Moudut said.