Poet and writer Farhad Mazhar yesterday insisted he was a victim of abduction and that he did not stage any “drama,” as claimed by law enforcers in their investigation report.

“Be assured that I have not staged any drama. Rest 100 percent assured about it,” he said, replying to questions at a press conference at his Adabar house in the capital.

Mazhar, a staunch critic of the government, was talking to the media for the first time since was allegedly kidnapped near his house on July 3. He was “found” in Khulna about 18 hours later.

The evidence that police circulated to the media, including footage of his movement in Khulna, sending money through bKash and phone call to a woman are all a set-up by the abductors, he claimed.

He did not deny doing any of these, but said he did everything as instructed by his captors to save his life.

“The place, where the abductors released me was totally unfamiliar. I realised that the abductors were watching me. They asked me to take a back seat in the Hanif Paribahan bus after I boarded it as per their instructions,” said Mazhar, a staunch critic of the government.

The family held the press conference two days after a Dhaka court ordered police to sue Farhad and his wife Farida Akter for staging a “false drama over the abduction”.

After accepting the probe report submitted by detectives, Metropolitan Magistrate Khurshid Alam passed the order, asking the Adabar police to file a case against the couple in this regard.

Police last night confirmed that they were yet to get the court order.

Mahbubul Haque, inspector of the Detective Branch of police who investigated the case, submitted the final report to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka on November 14. The report also sought the court's permission to sue the couple.

The report said that Mazhar “staged the abduction drama” in efforts to get some money from his family.

In the briefing, the columnist outright rejected the charge.

“I underwent operation in both my eyes. On July 3, I woke up early and found my eyes dry when I tried to write something on my computer,” he said.

He then went out of his home around 5:00am and headed for drugstores near Suhrawardy Hospital to buy some medicines. On his way, three unidentified men forced him into a white microbus and blindfolded him, he said.

“Luckily, I was able to make a call to my wife as the cell phone was in my hand and my wife's number was on the first dialling list,” said Mazhar.

“No victim of forced disappearance spoke about their case in public before. I am the first one to talk and I am taking this risk. I am inviting danger for me, I know that. But I will keep fighting.”

Asked why he is holding a press conference after so long, he asked back, “Was the situation favourable for it?”

“I am now forced to open my mouth. If my no confidence petition was accepted [in the court], I would not be here to talk to the press. This statement would be included there [in court],” he added.