Five students of Chittagong University (CU) who were abducted a week ago have been released.

Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP), an organisation representing students of ethnic communities, issued a statement on Thursday in this regard.

Although the five students from various ethnic communities were reportedly freed on Wednesday, the matter came to light on Thursday after PCP issued the statement confirming their release.

The five students, who had gone missing from the Giriful area in Khagrachhari on April 16 while returning home after celebrating the Biju festival, are now staying at their respective village homes.

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Superintendent of Police of Khagrachhari Arefin Jewel told UNB, “PCP has issued a statement confirming the safe return of their students.We’ve also communicated with the students’ families, and they too have confirmed that they have returned home. So, it can be reasonably assumed that the students are now in their families’ custody.”

The five abducted students are- Rishon Chakma, a student of International Relations; Maitrimoy Chakma and Aldrin Tripura, both students of Fine Arts; Dibby Chakma of Theatre Department; and Longi Mro from the Zoology Department.

All of them are first-year students enrolled in the 2023-24 academic session at Chittagong University.

They were abducted along with an auto-rickshaw driver who was later released.

Following the abduction, the PCP – aligned with the Parbatya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS)  – accused the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) of being behind the incident.

However, Angya Marma, a district organiser of the UPDF, repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming their group had no involvement.