List of disappeared people getting longer
No trace of NSU teacher Mubashar yet
Saugato Bosu
The list of disappeared people is getting alarmingly long over the past few months and the disappearance of North South University teacher Dr Mubashar Hasan is the latest addition to the lineup of unfortunate people. In the last three months, a total of eight prominent individuals went missing from various parts of the country, but the government has been unable to find trace of any of these missing persons and the scenario is the same in case of Mubashar as police are yet to find any clue three days into the teachers going missing.
Apart from Mubashar, there is no trace of Utpal Das, a journalist working with online portal Purboposhchimbd.news and covering news related to the ruling Awami League, Aniruddha Kumar Roy, Managing Director (MD) of RMM Group, Syed Sadat Ahmed Sadat, MD of ABN Group, MM Aminur Rahman, Secretary General of Bangladesh Kalyan Party, Mohammad Rokonuzzaman Rukon, local Awami League leader and mayor of Sarishabari municipality in Jamalpur,
Ishrak Ahmed, a student of Canadas McGill University who allegedly disappeared from the capital, and another student Arafat Rahman. Utpal, 29, remains missing since October 10. His father Chitta Ranjan Das and the editor of news portal Purboposhchimbd.news filed two general diaries with Motijheel Police Station on 12th October and 13th October respectively in connection with the incident.
ABN Group MD Syed Sadat Ahmed has allegedly been abducted from Banani in Dhaka, his family claims.
Sadat was forced out of his car and into a microbus under the Banani overpass on August 22 afternoon, according to his father Col (retd) Syed Sahabuddin Ahmed. The police suspect Sadats business rivals maybe behind the abduction. As per a statement of Kalyan Party, its Secretary General Aminur Rahman has been missing since August 27 after he left Naya Paltan around 10 pm for his home at Aminbazar in Savar on the outskirts of the capital.
Maj Gen (retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, Chairman of Bangladesh Kalyan Party, urged the government to find out Aminur immediately.
On the same day (Aug 27), Aniruddha Roy, the Honorary Consul General of Belarus, went missing from Gulshan in Dhaka on August 27. He was abducted around 4:30pm on the day, alleged his family members. Five days before Aniruddha went missing, ABN Group MD Sadat was allegedly abducted from Banani in the capital.
Investigators suspect disappearances of Aniruddha, Aminur and Sadat are inter-connected as, what they said, the three were picked up in a similar manner.
Mayor Rokonuzzaman went missing from the capitals Uttara area on the night of September 25. Ishrak Ahmed, 20, allegedly went missing from Dhakas Dhanmondi area on August 26. He was last seen near Star Kabab at Dhanmondi Road No. 15 around 8:30pm on the very day, according to police and family sources.
Arafat Rahman, 24, who came to Dhaka from Nilphamari to visit his parents and later left for attending Tablig Jamaat remain missing since October 7.
The law enforcers are still in dark although three days have passed since NSU Assistant Professor Dr Mubashar Hasan went missing.
Mashiur Rahman, Khilgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC), said that they have launched a probe into the incident and were yet to ascertain whether the teacher disappeared or was kidnapped.
Detectives and other units of police are working in the case and we are looking if he had any family problems or any other problematic affiliations, said the OC. Rapid Action Battalion as also started looking into the incident given the teachers affiliations with different high-profile organisations.
In a statement, Mubashars father said, Law enforcement agencies have been extremely cooperative with us and were hopeful that my son will be back amongst us within no time. We plead to the government to give this case the utmost priority.
RAB is also engaged in this case. They are seriously considering the matter. When Caesars parents came to their office and asked for help, they looked seriously at the issue said captain Lieutenant Colonel Md. Emranul Hassan RAB-3. In a short time, we went to the field and tried to collect information said Md. Emranul Hassan.
Apart from teaching at the NSU after completing his PhD from Griffith University in Australia on the Influence of Islam in Bangladeshi Politics, he was also associated with the United Nations and the Access to Information (A2i) project at the Prime Ministers Office. On top of the authorities failure to unearth these issues, a recent comment of the home minister made the families of those went missing and the common people alarmed.
On Wednesday, when reporters approached Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan over the disappearance of the NSU teacher, he said many people go missing willingly. Many people are going missing or hiding to embarrass us. This is difficult for detectives to find out those who are hiding willingly. However, well trace them hopefully, said the minister.
The rights activists in the country have been voicing their concerns over the incidents of disappearances and the authorities such reluctant stance.
Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), in a statement, said that the government should ensure personal safety to its citizens.
It is the main responsibility of the law enforcement agencies that they find out the missing persons and return them to their families. At the same time, find out those who are involved in these terrible activity and bring them to justice, read the Shujan statement. Asia Director of Human Right Watch Brad Adams also voiced his concerns over the incidents of disappearances.
It is important that the Bangladesh government act to protect its citizens from what has obviously been a growing security problem in the country, but it needs to do so in a rights-respecting manner, he said. Ganashasthaya Kendra founder Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, a known rights activist, told The Independent that it was very unfortunate that the people of the country are disappearing in such a manner.
