Apu’s wife accuses BNP leader Ishraque of abduction, forcing video confession

Anisha says Apu, her husband, was filmed after being held and assaulted at the BNP leader’s home

The wife of arrestee Jaane Alam Apu has accused BNP leader Ishraque Hossain of abducting her husband and forcing him to record a confession video at his Gopibagh residence through torture.

Kazi Anisha, Apu’s wife, made the allegations at a press conference outside the National Museum in Dhaka’s Shahbagh on Thursday afternoon.

The confession clip, which went viral on Facebook on Wednesday night, showed Apu naming Local Government Advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain as the “main planner” of an extortion incident in Gulshan involving leaders of the Students Against Discrimination.

The video sparked a wave of discussion on social media.

Amid the debate, Anisha claimed her husband was abducted around 11:30pm on Jul 31, before his arrest, by men on two motorcycles.

She alleged they took him to Ishraque’s home in Gopibagh, where he was beaten, and the video was recorded.

The next day, on Aug 1, Apu was picked up by detectives from the alley outside Ishraque’s house on charges related to the Gulshan extortion case, she said.

Attempts to reach Ishraque for comments were unsuccessful.