Locals rescued seven children from the clutches of abductors and caught two of them red-handed at Ektiarpur Bazar in Bijoynagar upazila of Brahmanbaria district on Saturday afternoon.

A gang of three picked up the boys from Gopalpur village under Madhabpur Police Station in Habiganj district at noon and took them to nearby Ektiarpur Bazar at around 5:00pm.

When the abductors were picking up the boys onto a human hauler at the bazaar, locals smelt that something was wrong. They rushed in, rescued the boys and caught two gang members, Bachchu Mia, 32, and Manik Mia, 30. The other member of the gang, however, managed to flee.

Bachchu hails from Birpasha village under Bijoynagar upazila while Manik from Nasirabad upazila of Brahmanbaria district.

The rescued kids are Shahin, 7, Hanif, 7, Muttakin, 8 Hridoy, 9, Rakibul, 7, Rokib, 7 and Rokon 8. They all are stu-

dents of Gopalpur Primary School.

Being informed, Bijoynagar police went to the spot and took the abductors and the children to the police station. They later handed over the abductor and the kids to Madhabpur Police Station as the incident took place in Madhabpur upazila.

Victim Rakib told police that the kidnappers came to them while they were playing football at a field at their village in the afternoon.

"They told us to help them catch a thief, who had crossed the canal nearby and also offered Tk 200 to each of us for the job," Rakib said, adding that they agreed and crossed the canal, but the men took them to Ektiarpur Bazaar.

Police yesterday produced the abductors and the children in Habiganj Judicial Magistrate's Court. After recording the statements of the children, the court sent the abductors to jail. It (court) also asked police to hand over the kids to their parents.

Police said they will file a petition with the court today, seeking a seven-day remand for the abductors.