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Published : 04 Jul 2017, 03:19 PM
Mazhar was transported to court in Old Dhaka where a magistrate would record his statement, police said, hours after he was taken into detectives’ custody for questioning.
In a dramatic rescue effort, law-enforcement agencies brought him back to Dhaka on Tuesday from the southwestern district of Jessore, sparking speculations over the reported abduction.
"Farhad Mazhar told us that some men took him away when he went out to buy some medicines," Joint Commissioner Adbul Baten told reporters at the DB offices in Dhaka.
On Monday, Mazhar's family reported to police that the 70-year-old was abducted after he left his Dhaka home around 5am following a phone call.
After word of his disappearance was out, law enforcers expanded their search to the southwestern region of the country. Police tracked his mobile phone to the area in the evening.
Hours later, he was briefly spotted in a Khulna restaurant, about 250 kilomtres away from Dhaka.
The sighting of the man prompted detectives to raid several places in Khulna City, but they could not find him.
He was eventually found sitting in white clothes on a rear seat of a bus in Jessore travelling back to the capital.
Despite the family's claim of abduction, law enforcers said they believe the poet-columnist 'staged a drama' citing the circumstances.
Police said he was found in a stable condition and was carrying a bag of clothes, money and his phone's charger.
Mazhar was later handed over to a team of Dhaka police, who brought him to the Adabor Police Station where he breakfasted on Tuesday morning.
He was then taken to the DB offices at the capital's Minto Road.
Mazhar's wife Farida Akhter, who was waiting in a car outside the DB offices, told bdnews24.com that she didn't get a chance to speak much with her husband on Tuesday morning.
"The last time, when we spoke yesterday, he said he had not eaten anything and he was blindfolded until evening."
After quizzing Mazhar, senior DB officer Baten told the media that the columnist told them that he was abducted by some unidentified men.
"He then called his wife from his phone and said he will be released for a ransom of Tk 3.5 million. We are trying to find out the identity of the abductors."
After the media briefing at the DB offices, police took Mazhar to court in Old Dhaka.
Baten said they would decide on the next step later.
Facing a barrage of questions from reporters on the mysterious episode, the DB joint commissioner only said: “The investigation is still going on. We need more time.”
