Tortured in ‘game ghar’

They call it the "game ghar (house)".

Alluring Bangladeshis with a prospect of better life in Europe, a transnational gang first sends unsuspecting people to Dubai on a visit visa and then to Libya through Egypt.

For the journey, the criminals charge each person around Tk 9.5 lakh.

But there's a twist. The migrants are then kept confined to "game ghar" once they reach Libya. The gang's Libyan members then make ransom calls to the victims' family and demand a hefty amount.

If the ransom is paid, the criminals send the migrants to Europe on small boats through the Mediterranean Sea. They torture the migrants until ransom is paid.

Asked why they call it "game ghar", investigators said to the criminals, this is just a game, like betting. Guessing whether the gang would get ransom and send victims to Europe, or whether to torture, is fun for them. Interrogating arrestees, CTTC has come to know that around 13 Bangladeshis are now confined to the game ghar.

The human-trafficking wing of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit claimed to have got the findings after the arrest of two Bangladeshi members of the gang -- Md Alamgir Khan and Akteruzzaman Molla alias Kuddus Molla.

Asked why they call it "game ghar", investigators said to the criminals,  this is just a game, like betting. Guessing whether the gang would  get ransom and send victims to Europe, or whether to torture, is fun for them.

CTTC claimed to have arrested Alamgir from Savar on October 30, after Moni Akter, mother of victim Alim Hossain Milon, filed a case with Hazaribagh Police Station.

According to the first information report and CTTC, Moni paid Alamgir Tk 9.50 lakh to send Milon to Italy in two phases.

Milon left Bangladesh in a flight on March 28 and called Moni five days after reaching Libya. A week later, Alamgir told Milon's family that local police caught him while he was going to Italy. So, the group needed Tk 6 lakh more to free him, reads the FIR.

Moni then sold a piece of land and paid the amount.

But she mentioned in the FIR that 15 to 20 days back, she came to know that Milon is confined to the "game ghar" in Libya, the FIR added.

Tohidul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of CTTC, told The Daily Star yesterday that Alamgir has sent around 102 Bangladeshis in the last one and a half years.

During interrogation, Alamgir said he was a private car driver. One and a half years back, he met recruiting agent Kuddus, from whom he got the offer to collect people to send abroad, said Tohidul.

"As per the offer, Alamgir used to collect people, take around Tk 9.5 lakh from each of them, and refer them to Kuddus. For bringing one person, Kuddus used to pay him Tk 40,000 to Tk 50,000," said the officer.

On information, CTTC officials conducted a drive in Faridpur and arrested Kuddus on early Wednesday.

Kuddus is the ringleader of the gang's Bangladesh side. Recently, he received a licence for a recruiting agency named "Ms Araf Manpower Limited" and registered the business against a fake address, said ADC Tohidul.

"Interrogating arrestees, we have come to know that around 13 Bangladeshis are now confined to the game ghar," he said.

Due to the criminals' torture, Rafiqul Bepari, a 22-year-old from Madaripur, died in Italy, said investigators.

Rafiqul left home in February by paying Alamgir Tk 9.5 lakh. The gang demanded Tk 10 lakh ransom after Rafiqul reached Libya, said investigators, quoting the victim's family.

Rafiqul became sick due to the torture. The family paid Tk 10 lakh and finally managed to send him in Italy. However, he died there on October 25, said CTTC officials.

"A Bangladeshi named Sharif from Cumilla is leading the game ghar activities in Libya, and his wife Sumona Sumi in Bangladesh manages the payments," said ADC Tohidul.

He further said, "We have already got some details of Sharif's property, which he bought from the ransom payments. We also seized his wife's car on Thursday."

"We are now conducting drives to arrest the absconding members of the gang. And we may go to Libya or send information to the local authorities there to take action," he added.