A college student bought his freedom eight days into abduction and criminals beat a businessman to death in captivity in Kushtia on Tuesday, while an abducted Jhenidah farmer is still hostage to his captors.

Abductors released Asaduzzaman Liton, 24, an Alamdanga Degree College student, Tuesday night on a ransom of Tk 60,000 from his family, sources said.

Liton was found with his hands and legs tied and blindfolded from an isolated Durgapur field in Sadar upazila shortly before noon as the captors earlier gave them an instruction after the family paid ransom.

An underground gang abducted Liton, son of Mujibur Rahman of Nohordia village, on August 30 on his way home at about 9:00pm from a local bazaar.

Abductors beat businessman Siraj Ali, 35, a timber trader of Ballavpur Bazaar, to death in Sontoshpur village in Sadar upazila on Tuesday night. The police said they recovered the body of Siraj.

Siraj of Sugandhipur village was living in his in-laws' house at Ballavpur and had been missing since Monday, his family said.

Police believe Siraj was abducted by the gangsters who earlier demanded Tk 50,000 in toll and threatened to kill him otherwise, while returning home from the bazaar at night. Police sent the body to Kushtia General Hospital for autopsy.

The police could not rescue Jhenidah farmer Sunil Kumar Mondol of Mohisdanga village in Sailkupa upazila, abducted on Friday.

A gang in the guise of police at night called the 50-year-old out of sleep and demanded Tk 2 lakh from his family after abducting him at gunpoint.

Police said they were trying to rescue the farmer.