By: Camp Correspondent
Kutupalong, Cox’s Bazar — July 15, 2025
A 25-year-old Rohingya youth, Noor Alom, was abducted from Kutupalong Market on the evening of July 14 and later released after his family managed to pay a ransom of one lakh Taka. The incident highlights rising insecurity inside and around the world’s largest refugee settlement in southeastern Bangladesh.
Noor Alom, a former Grade-12 student at Full Moon High School and a respected community teacher in his block, is a resident of Lambashiya C-1W in Kutupalong camp. According to family and eyewitness accounts, he had gone to the market with his friend Nur Mostafa (20) to collect a shirt from a tailor. After briefly leaving the shirt at a shop, Noor went to purchase fruit for his ailing aunt in Thankhali, planning to visit her later that evening.
As he boarded a shared vehicle—commonly known as a “CNG”—four unidentified men took seats beside him. “We were near the Robar Garden area when the driver suddenly stopped. The men beside me grabbed me, blindfolded me, and gagged me with cloth. Then they dragged me deep into the forest,” Noor told Rohingya Khobor.
Once inside the forest, the abductors tied his hands and threatened him with knives. They took photographs and videos, warning him not to speak out after his release. Around 9:00 PM, they used Noor’s own phone to contact his family, sending proof of his captivity and demanding a ransom of five lakh Taka within an hour. The kidnappers warned that Noor would be killed if the money wasn’t delivered promptly.
“We told them we’re poor. We can’t even buy fish,” said Noor’s parents, who were overcome with fear and despair. After frantic efforts and borrowing from neighbors, the family raised one lakh Taka and sent the money to a mobile banking account provided by the abductors.
At approximately 11:30 PM, Noor was released. “They beat me when I tried to tell my family where I was. They slapped me and kicked me. But after receiving the money, they let me go,” Noor wrote in a Facebook post after his return.
Local residents say this is not an isolated case. Incidents of kidnapping, extortion, and violence have become alarmingly frequent in the Kutupalong camp and surrounding areas. Many community members live in constant fear, especially youth who are often targeted by armed groups operating within the camp under the cover of darkness and weak enforcement.
The latest incident underscores the urgent need for enhanced protection measures, particularly as law and order in the camps continues to deteriorate due to declining international aid and overstretched security infrastructure. Families living in these densely packed settlements say they often feel abandoned, left to fend for themselves in a place where justice rarely reaches.
Community leaders are calling for swift action from camp authorities and law enforcement to investigate the kidnapping and ensure accountability for those responsible. “If there is no justice, these crimes will only grow. We want to feel safe in our own homes,” said a Rohingya elder from Kutupalong.
