Project Officer Mohammad Suman Sharif and his driver Abu Hanif were kidnapped on Monday afternoon from Kyaburi Para, a village of indigenous people under Thanchi upazila, some 100 kilometres from the district town.

The joint forces have been conducting combing operations in search of them, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) sources said.

Locals said that 10 to 12 masked gunmen in black, picked up the two Danida staff at about 4:00 pm and took them to some unknown place in the deep forest. The criminals could be rebels from Myanmar, they added.

The kidnappers left a handwritten note but they did not identify themselves nor placed any demands for the release of the hostages.

Quoting the witnesses, Anupam Marma, a local journalist told The Daily Star that the Danida staff were kidnapped while they were returning after inspecting the development activities of four local NGOs.

The joint forces have arrested 11 people from the Kyaburi Para including a NGO official Kya Bu Ri Marma in connection with the kidnapping. The arrestees are being quizzed by the law enforcers.

Meanwhile, civil and army officers held a five hours long meeting at the Bandarban cantonment yesterday afternoon. At a briefing after the meeting, Bandarban Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mazid Shah told the journalists that they sat to develop a strategy for rescuing the kidnapped.